Aaron Ross practiced Wednesday for the first time since pulling his left
hamstring in training camp in August.
Ross, who started 24-of-30 games in his first two seasons
with the Giants, hopes to be ready to play when New York (5-4) returns from a
bye and plays the Atlanta Falcons on Nov. 22.
"This is my livelihood, this is how I feed myself, my
family," Ross said. "Not being able to be out there and do it is very hard. I am
very, very, very, very excited to be out there with the guys."
Ross plans to spend the next 10 days undergoing treatment
and working on his conditioning.
Second-year pro Terrell Thomas has started in Ross'
absence.
Secondary coach Peter Giunta said it was great to have
Ross back, but he said the former first-round pick has to get some of the rust
off and get his timing back.
"Hopefully, we will get a situation where he can bump
people around a little rather than going right into live football the first time
he makes any contact," Giunta said. "It's nice to kind of wean him in during the
preseason, a few plays here and few plays there and build it up. He doesn't have
that opportunity right now, so he'll have to get himself ready. When he puts
some pads back on, he'll hit the sled, do some things with leg driving, wrapping
up and those kinds of things."
Since Kenny Phillips was lost to a knee injury in
September, the Giants have struggled at safety.
Ross played some safety at Texas, but he said would
prefer returning as a cornerback.
"I just hope it helps being out there," he said.
Ross pulled his hamstring early in August and then
re-injured it just before the team broke training camp.