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Terrell Thomas has high hopes, and said his goal is to play 16 games this season.

(Star-Ledger File Photo)

Despite having two surgeries in the past calendar year, Terrell Thomas is not short on confidence.

The Giants defensive back, who has had three surgeries on the same ACL and would be the first player to come back from such a setback, took to his personal website today to give an update on his progress.

The short version? Thomas is about 90 percent, he's very confident he'll have a role in the defense this year, and the team will start him off by managing his reps at the beginning of camp.

"Right now, to be honest with you I feel great," Thomas wrote. "The last weeks my confidence is getting better and better. I am not 100%; I would say I am 85% to 90%. The only thing missing is real field work; going against my teammates, the grind of practice and seeing how my knee handles all that."

Thomas, understandably, doesn't care where his opportunity comes at this point. He said he's willing to play corner, nickel or safety and that his ultimate goal is to make it through 16 games.

"I truly don’t care if I play corner, nickel or safety. As long as I am on field; I feel I can be very productive. First I need to get through one practice then one week of practices then a month of practices, then one game and game after that. The only goal this year for me is to play and get through sixteen games. I haven’t played football in two years so that is the biggest goal for me. Whatever else happens after is a plus."

He started 31 games for the Giants between 2009 and 2010, logging 11 picks and six forced fumbles over three total seasons before the ACL issues reared in the preseason and in training camp.

His production, though, was difficult to ignore. This is why Thomas thinks he can still come in and make a difference.

"I am excited about camp starting this week," Thomas said. "I feel like a big question mark on defense and I love it. That makes me feel like a rookie again, nobody knows what to expect from me other than that I was a good player. Just like when I was coming into the league as a good player coming out of college, so I love that feeling. I feel like I am the X factor for the defense, I think I can be a big key for our defense this year as far as my physical play combined with my knowledge, communication and leadership skills."