Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl
Brandon Jacobs might return from a knee injury Sunday, but the running back ultimately believes he will have to leave the New York Giants to show what he can still do on the field.
In an interview this week with Men’s Fitness magazine, Jacobs voiced his frustration with his role.
“I’m just here, doing the best that I can do to help my team,” Jacobs said. “I come out to win; it’s up to them whether or not they want to use me.
“I just can’t wait to get a true opportunity to get out there and show myself again, you know? Next year, hopefully. This is a business and you have to look at it that way. I just want to get out there and show myself. It’s going to have to be for another team, but it is what it is. It comes with the territory.”
When asked if he sees himself with the Giants beyond his current contract, Jacobs replied, “No, I don’t.”
Jacobs, 29, is the backup to Ahmad Bradshaw, who re-signed with the Giants in August.
“He’s not being used as much as he can be, either,” Jacobs said of Bradshaw. “It’s a very confusing thing.”
After practice Thursday, Jacobs walked into the locker room wearing a Michael Myers “Halloween” mask” before talking to reporters. Jacobs reiterated that he is frustrated with how he and Bradshaw are being utilized but he wasn’t as firm about leaving when his contract is up.
“Being an athlete, I want to go out and perform and be able to help my team,” Jacobs said. “It is really aggravating and really frustrating. What can I do? There are teams all over the league not really running the ball well and backs aren’t really getting the carries they normally get. I can’t do anything about it.
“I just want to be happy,” he added. “That is where I want to start at — I want to be happy and be able to finish my career in the right way.”
When asked if he is unhappy in New York, Jacobs replied, “Well I am not going to say I am not happy. I am not happy with the way we are doing things as a team offensively; we are not having enough snaps, period. Ahmad isn’t getting that many carries either. We just got to get what we get.”
Coach Tom Coughlin and general manager Jerry Reese had said during the offseason that they wanted to get Jacobs the ball more. But the Giants’ running game has struggled at times.
Bradshaw, 25, didn’t have a 100-yard game until Week 6. Jacobs, who has missed the past two games with a knee injury, is averaging 9.5 carries per game.
Jacobs’ contract expires after next season. He restructured his deal during the summer to help the Giants re-sign Bradshaw. Jacobs altered his base salary for the 2011 season from $4.65 million to a base of $2.9 million, but reportedly can make up the difference through incentives, but it will be difficult without carries.
“I don’t regret that at all,” Jacobs said of taking the pay cut. “I am actually happy that I did it. I just thought I would have a chance to get out there and be able to play more. … But it is what it is. It is a business.”
Jacobs was due $4.9 million next season, but the Giants converted $500,000 of it into a roster bonus that will be due in March, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. The team will then have to make a decision whether to retain the running back.
When asked Thursday about his future and whether he wants to leave for another team, Jacobs said it depends on how this season goes.
“It all depends on how this year ends,” Jacobs said. “However this year ends, that’s going to make this decision clear or not clear.”
Jacobs only has had one game this season in which he has carried the ball more than nine times; he had 16 carries for a season-high 50 yards against St. Louis in Week 2.
“I am sure he will have a lot more fun being on the field with us this week,” Bradshaw said. “Being running backs, we want the ball all the time. I think that is where it [the frustration] is coming from.”
Jacobs, who is best friends with Bradshaw, is recovering from a sprained medial collateral ligament. He practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and Thursday and expects to play on Sunday against Miami.
“That bye couldn’t have come at a better time for me,” said Jacobs, who hasn’t played since the Giants’ win in Arizona on Oct. 2. “I ended up missing two weeks. That third week, if we didn’t have the bye, I would have been good to go.
“I felt good, felt explosive yesterday and today,” he added. “I’m ready to get out there and get some snaps and play.”
In the magazine interview, Jacobs also scoffed at the notion that he shies away from contact after taking a lot of hits in the past.
“There’s a lot of people that really don’t know what they’re talking about,” Jacobs said. “First off, I don’t really get a lot of chances to prove (myself). As a back, you need to get out and get going, get a couple carries. You know, get the pace of the game down. … I don’t get enough carries to say I was part of anything, so people can say what the hell they want to say.”
Last year, Jacobs initially was unclear about his role behind Bradshaw until he sat down with Coughlin to discuss his situation. Jacobs had 147 carries last season for 823 yards and nine touchdowns in 2010. In his previous three seasons from 2007-09, Jacobs received 202 or more carries per season.
Jacobs isn’t sure how many touches he will receive against Miami on Sunday.
“I have no idea, I am just here working hard,” Jacobs said. “Whatever happens, happens. I am not making any more [predictions]. … When they call my number, I’ll be there. If they don’t, fine.”
WRITTEN BY Ohm Youngmisuk covers the Giants for ESPNNewYork.com & FULL STORY HERE
Follow Ohm Youngmisuk on Twitter:Â @notoriousohm
