Jon Beason is happy to be back with his teammates. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — For New York Giants middle linebacker Jon Beason, being out on the practice field with his teammates for the first time since he suffered a broken bone in his foot on June 12 was more exciting that the first day of school.
Sporting a T-shirt emblazoned with “Beast,” the eight-year linebacker’s nickname, Beason was all smiles as he spoke about his long journey back to active status and his hopes for opening night.
“I feel pretty good,” he said. “I’m just happy to be back out there, working for one common goal with my teammates and doing what I love. It feels good to get my feet wet again.”
Head coach Tom Coughlin said, “He moved around very well. Just to have him out there is a good thing.”
As excited as Beason — who said he did everything in the Giants’ light practice session on Monday — is about finally being able to practice, he also is realistic about handling a full workload when the Giants open the season next Monday night at Detroit.
“I think so,” Beason said. “Obviously you want to gauge where I am mentally physically, what my role’s going to be, how big how small. I’m just taking advantage of the reps they’re giving me, trying to prove why I need to be out there.”
Beason was asked what he thinks he still needs to prove to the coaches by the end of this week.
“I think they trust I’m going to be there,” he said. “Obviously we’re going to be smart about it. But it’s like anything. You’re always going to have to prove yourself.
“I don’t care if you’re Eli (Manning) in your 11th year or you’re a rookie. You have to go out there and prove yourself every single day and I think my teammates respect how I go about my business and coaches do too, but nevertheless I still have to go out there to do that.
“But I think by the end of the week, they’ll feel confident that I can go out there and contribute on whatever level they deem appropriate.”
Whatever that contribution is, whether it’s big or small, Coughlin said just having the middle linebacker back in the mix is going to help change the complexion of the team because of Beason’s passion for the game.
“It’s the upbeat, the love to play, fly around a million miles per hour, encouraging other people to do the same or better, and just how hard he plays,” Coughlin said. “He shows great example in what he does, he loves the game, so it is great to have him back out there.”
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul added, “We need him, everybody knows that we need him. All of the guys were hyped up today (because) he was out there. He’s off the PUP list and he’s ready to go; he’s fired up.”
