Giants linebacker Jon Beason has fracture in right foot, faces 12-week recovery

Jon Beason was expected to help anchor the Giants' front seven in 2014, his first full season in New York. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images) New York Giants linebacker

Jon Beason was expected to help anchor the Giants' front seven in 2014, his first full season in New York. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

New York Giants linebacker Jon Beason had to be carted off the field during the team's OTA practice on Thursday, and after doctors were seen attending to his lower right leg, coach Tom Coughlin appeared to open the door for optimism when he revealed that the injury was to Beason's foot instead of an aggravation of the knee and achilles ailments that had kept him off the field in recent years.

On Friday, the extent of the injury revealed bad news for the Giants: Beason has been diagnosed with a sesamoid fracture in his right foot, which is expected to require a 12-week recovery, according to NFL Network reporter Kimberly Jones. The team's official website confirmed the extent of the injury, adding that Beason also suffered a ligament tear. The expected recovery timetable would leave Beason in doubt for the Giants' season-opener on Sept. 8.

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This is a significant blow to the summer plans of a team looking to bounce back from a very disappointing campaign in 2013. Beason was acquired from Carolina less than a month into the season and racked up 93 combined tackles for the Giants, who finished third in the NFC East with a 7-9 record.

Beason was expected to be one of the leaders of the defense in his first full season as a Giant, and that void that will not be easily filled if his return to full health drags into the first month of the season. He told the team's website that he expects to be back for Week 1 and is thankful the injury is not of the season-ending variety.

“I had a bad feeling. I really felt that I that I had torn the extensor, which is the tendon with the muscle, it’s how your big toe functions. That would have been season-ending. So at least now there’s a procedure, possibly. We haven’t decided if it’s something that’s invasive or something that you just kind of let heal on its own. The timeframe is about the same, but it’s not season-ending, so I’m happy about that.”

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