For Giants tight end Travis Beckum the last few days have served as a cautionary reminder about being patient with injuries. Both teammate Terrell Thomas and former teammate Jonathan Goff, who signed with the Redskins in the offseason, each suffered injuries to their surgically repaired ACLs this week and that has Beckum noticeably concerned.
But while Beckum, who tore his ACL in the Super Bowl, admits that the injuries to Thomas and Goff have scared him a bit, he’s also trying to put that fear out of his head and focus on his own rehab.
“You can’t try to progress on your knee and think about that at the same time,” Beckum said Thursday. “You’ve kind of got blank that out and just work on your [knee].”
Beckum said his knee hasn’t been swelling up during his rehab and he hopes to begin lateral movement in the next few weeks. And if that goes as planned, there’s always the chance he can get off the PUP list and return to play for the Giants this season. (If he’s on PUP at the beginning of the regular season, he cannot return until after Week 6).
Of course, Beckum had once hoped to be ready for Week 1, which means he’d have to be taken off PUP in the preseason. But now he’s more concerned with being patient.
“If I were to say I wanted to be back by Week 1, that’s putting pressure on myself,” he said. “And I think that’s what happens with these guys, they want to get back too soon, put the pressure on themselves, then come back and re-tear it. I’m going to try to be smart about it.”
Yes, Beckum still wants to play in Week 1. He just wants to play, period.
That’s why he’ll be patient with the injury. The more he waits now, the better chance he has at a longer, more-fulfilling career.
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