Corey

Webster

The second-round pick is already the team’s nickel back and could challenge one of the ''Wills’’ for a starting job.

Webster has been assigned to Larry Fitzgerald, Sidney Rice, and Stevie Johnson over the past three games. They’ve been held to 16 catches for 132 yards combined, not including Fitzgerald’s Week 4 47-yard jump ball over S Deon Grant. Webster isn’t quite a shutdown corner, but this could be a concern for some of the weaker “No. 1" receivers coming up on New York’s schedule.

Mid-week soft-tissue injuries always raise red flags, but this one doesn’t appear to be serious enough to hold Webster out this weekend even if he didn’t do much in practice. The Giants will need Webster close to full capacity against surging wideouts Roddy White and Julio Jones.

“I think I’m great,” Webster said. “I think I’m the best thing out there. I don’t think I’m second to nobody.” Webster spent the majority of the Giants’ regular-season win over the Patriots covering Deion Branch, and held Michael Crabtree to a three-yard reception in the NFC Championship. His 52 tackles and six interceptions this season are both career highs.

The injury may have occurred in a tussle with Panthers WR Steve Smith, which is never advised. Webster missed time in the first half to get X-rays and a hard cast, but returned for the second half. He’s confident that he will play next week versus the Eagles.

Beat writer Ralph Vacchiano considers Webster’s performance against the Cowboys the worst he’s ever seen from the veteran corner. Added one scout, “He wasn’t good last year, either.” The Giants secondary suddenly has the look of one that can be exploited for fantasy purposes.

Webster is due $7.25 million in the final year of a six-year pact, which is awfully high for a guy that was completely torched in 2012. According to Pro Football Focus, opposing quarterbacks had a 106.6 rating when throwing at Webster. He graded out as their fourth-worst corner out of a qualifying 113 players. Webster will turn 31 in March.

Once considered a rising star as a shadow corner, Webster’s play has fallen off dramatically over the last year-and-a-half. It came to a head in Week 16 as the Ravens chose to relentlessly attack Webster instead of rookie Jayron Hosley. He’s due $7 million in 2013, the final chapter of a six-year deal signed in 2008. The Giants could be thinking about moving forward with Hosley and Prince Amukamara as their base corners.

The move saves $4.5 million in salary cap room. Webster had all the makings of a true No. 1 corner as recently as midway through the 2011 season. Since then, his play has tailed off dramatically. It came to a head this past year, when he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 109 corner out of 113 qualifying players. Webster will play out the final year of his deal for $4 million instead of the $7.25 million he was scheduled to earn.

Aaron Ross will start in his place opposite Prince Amukamara. What was already a juicy matchup for Cam Newton and Steve Smith gets even better.