Neck Injury Ends Giants RB David Wilson After Two Seasons

Sad news out of New York Giants training camp, with the AP reporting that the career of running back David Wilson has come to an end after just two seasons in the NFL. He played in just five games in 2013 before being diagnosed with spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal cord.

In January Wilson, age 23, underwent surgery to repair a single vertebrae and a herniated disk in his neck. Last week a hit that he sustained from an offensive lineman in training camp caused numbness to his hands and lower extremities.

After extensive medical evaluations, Wilson was told by doctors that should he continue to play, he risked more serious problems. Wisely choosing his health over his football career, Wilson decided to heed their advice and hang up his pads for good.

It’s a big loss for the Giants, who drafted Wilson out of Virginia Tech in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, although it didn’t catch them completely by surprise. The symptoms following injury had coach Tom Coughlin immediately preparing for the worst case scenario.

On a conference call with reporters, Coughlin said the following:

“We had pretty much braced ourselves for not good news, although trying to be optimistic and not trying to go ahead and make some kind of a statement prior to getting that information. We were certainly excited thinking that everything was going to be OK with David. But in the back of your mind: How are you going to be affected as a team? It would be irresponsible not to give some thought to that.”

Considering the circumstances, Wilson seems to be handling the situation very well. He released a statement on his sudden retirement, which demonstrated remarkable perspective. It read in part:

“I don’t want anybody to feel sorry for me, or pity me. I lived my dream. A lot of people only get to dream their dream. I lived that dream. Now I have a chance to dream another dream and live that, too.”

Unfortunately Wilson’s career has ended before it ever really began, but at least we’ll always have his epic celebratory double backflip after scoring a touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in October 2013.

There are certainly worse things an athlete could be remembered for!