East Rutherford, NJ (My Sportsbook) - The New York Giants placed defensive back Omar Stoutmire on injured reserve Wednesday after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Sunday's season-opening 31-17 loss in Philadelphia.

Stoutmire, who didn't start against the Eagles, played the contest in a reserve role and was a major contributor on special teams. It is still unclear when or how the veteran suffered the injury during the game.

Stoutmire, who hadn't missed a game since he was with the New York Jets in 1999, was the only defensive back to start all 16 games in 2003 for the Giants. The loss of Stoutmire will not only hurt the Giants on defense, but also on special teams where last year he ranked third on the team with 109 tackles, including 77 solo.

"He was very much involved with special teams," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said. "I can remember years ago thinking very, very highly of Omar as a special teams player. When you put him at fullback on the punt team you put a lot of responsibility on a guy."

New York, which is already thin at the defensive back position, will rely on Gibril Wilson, a rookie out of Tennessee to come in and play right away.

Wilson, who was inactive for the opener against the Eagles, will most likely contribute in the nickel and dime defenses as the Giants prepare for Sunday's contest against division foe Washington.