EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The New York Giants finally got the answer Thursday on the puzzling matter of safety Nat Berhe's calf injury. Unfortunately, as has been the case too often lately with the Giants and their safeties, the news is not good.
Berhe tweeted that he will have surgery Friday morning to remove a hardened blood clot from his calf. Sources close to the situation say the surgery is likely to keep Berhe out for the season. That would make him the fourth safety the Giants have lost for the season due to injury in the past 13 days.
"Thank you all for your well wishes and kind words. Having surgery tomorrow morning on my calf to remove a hardened blood clot," Berhe wrote in a series of tweets Thursday evening. "In my nine years of playing football I've never missed a season or even back to back games for that matter, so I'm upset to say the least. Just going to do what I can to help this team win games and right now that's focusing on healing. So keep me in your prayers tomorrow."
The Giants went into organized team activities and minicamp hoping that Berhe, a 2014 fifth-round draft pick, could emerge this year as one of their starting safeties. But the calf problem developed in May and cost him all of minicamp. It lingered into August and cost him most of training camp as well. He returned to practice Tuesday but was unable to practice Wednesday, and the diagnosis came Thursday.
Berhe joins 2015 fifth-round pick Mykkele Thompson, 2014 sixth-round pick Bennett Jackson and Justin Currie as safeties who have suffered season-ending injuries in the past two weeks. At this point, rookie Landon Collins looks like a sure starter at one of the Giants' safety spots, but the other is up for grabs. Brandon Meriweather, Jeromy Miles and Cooper Taylor all are candidates, and it's not out of the question the Giants could add another veteran to the mix with Berhe joining the list of the injured.