The Giants haven't been able to shake the injury bug for the past three seasons. On top of losing defensive captain and linebacker Jon Beason as well as nickel corners Walter Thurmond III and Trumaine McBride for the season, starting corner Prince Amukamara will join them after suffering torn biceps.
Heading into Monday night, the Giants were 3-4 and coming off their bye week. They suffered back-to-back losses to the Eagles and Cowboys and were looking to improve with a win at home against the Colts. But things didn't go as planned. Before they knew it they were down 37-10, lost Amukamara for the season and were forced to play starting corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on a limited basis. Now with three of contributing cornerbacks out for the year, it will be hard for the Giants to rebound and improve their standing in the NFC East after losing 40-24 to Indianapolis.
But the injuries aren't just limited to the Giants' defense. Texans' cornerback Kareem Jackson (knee), Bengals' running back Giovani Bernard (hip) and cornerback Leon Hall (concussion), Steelers' safety Troy Polamalu (knee) and Broncos linebacker Nate Irving (knee) were all held out of practice on Tuesday. Jackson, Polamalu and Irving are expected to miss at least one week, while Hall's or Bernard's status are not yet known for Thursday night's game against the Cleveland Browns.
Jackson and Irving both sprained their MCLs during their teams' losses on Sunday and although it's not a season-ending injury, they're expected to miss up to a month of action. The Texans at least have a bye coming up this week, which gives Jackson and extra week of rest, but the Broncos have three of their next four games on the road and will likely be without their starting middle linebacker. The Steelers already ruled Polamalu out for Sunday's game against the New York Jets after he sprained his knee on Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens. This creates a depth issue at safety for Pittsburgh, who have two others injured at the position, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue against the 1-8 Jets.
As for the Bengals, they have a short week and face injury issues with five starters. Hall (concussion), Bernard (hip), tight end Jermaine Gresham (knee), right tackle Andre Smith (ankle) and linebacker Rey Maualuga (hamstring) were all held out of practice on Tuesday. They have a Thursday night matchup against the Cleveland Browns and it's not a good sign all of these players missed practice two days before their Week 10 game. Running back Jeremy Hill proved he can handle the workload on Sunday with Bernard's absence, but they certainly cannot afford to lose another linebacker and one of their best linemen for a crucial division game against the 5-3 Browns.
We'll have the latest on the Bengals injuries within the next couple of days and the others later in the week.