EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- On his first rep in team drills Wednesday at New York Giants OTA practice, defensive end Robert Ayers injured his left knee and ankle. Ayers had to leave practice on a cart, and coach Tom Coughlin said the team had no immediate word on the severity of the injuries, though Coughlin seemed more concerned about the ankle.
Coughlin also seemed annoyed at the way Ayers got injured, since these are supposed to be non-contact practices and players are told repeatedly to stay on their feet. He said Ayers "went low" for some reason on the first play and ended up on the ground.
"I'm disappointed in that," Coughlin said. "But I hope that whatever it turns out to be is not serious."
Ayers seemed to be getting the first-team reps at defensive end opposite Cullen Jenkins with starting defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul continuing to opt out of the voluntary portion of the offseason program. After Ayers left, the rotation at defensive end opposite Jenkins included Kerry Wynn, George Selvie and Jordan Stanton. Damontre Moore was attending his first practice of the offseason after spending time back at Texas A&M taking classes toward his degree, and he was apparently being eased in slowly. I did not see third-round pick Owamagbe Odighizuwa in the defensive line rotation during this practice.
In other Giants injury news...
Safety Nat Berhe rode the exercise bike and watched practice from the sideline. Coughlin said Berhe suffered a calf injury in practice last week.
Linebacker Devon Kennard sat out with an ankle injury.
Guard Geoff Schwartz traded reps at right guard with John Jerry while Schwartz works his way back slowly from his ankle injury.
