Gus Bradley not worried about Prince Amukamara’s injury history
Prince Amukamara #20 of the New York Giants runs the ball after his first-quarter interception against the Washington Redskins at MetLife Stadium on Thursday, Sep. 24, 2015 in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: Jim McIsaac
BOCA RATON, FLA. — The biggest knock against Prince Amukamara during his tenure with the Giants is not an issue for his new team. At least not yet.
Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said he has no concern about the injury history of the former first-round pick who recently signed to play cornerback in Jacksonville.
“They were different types of injuries,” Bradley said at the AFC coaches breakfast, part of the NFL’s annual meeting. “We had conversations about it, but nothing that made us wary of him.”
Amukamara played five years for the Giants, but played a full 16-game season just once. Of 80 possible regular-season games, he was on the field for only 55 because of a number of injuries that included a broken foot his rookie season, a torn biceps in 2014 and various other pulls, strains and twists during his career.
It’s one of the reasons the Giants parted ways with Amukamara this offseason and brought in Janoris Jenkins, a cornerback who has missed only four games — three because of injury — in his four-year career. Amukamara played well when on the field, but the Giants did not believe that was often enough.
Bradley said he believes Amukamara will do well in Jacksonville.
“He plays with really good length on the line of scrimmage,” Bradley said. “Extremely competitive. In our conversations and watching film with him, I felt like he really fit our style.”
Still, the Jaguars gave Amukamara a one-year, prove-it type deal. Other big free-agency acquisitions on Jacksonville’s defense got longer, more lucrative contracts — defensive end Malik Jackson and safety Tashaun Gipson each got five-year deals.
“None of the multiyear deals made sense for me,” Amukamara told the Jaguars’ website earlier this month when he signed. “I thought it would be my best bet to bet on myself for the one-year deal and prove that I’m a force in this league. I feel like when I’m on the field a lot of great things happen, so I just want to put 16 games of that together.”
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
