The Giants have signed 29-year old QB Jim Sorgi to a 1-year deal to replace David Carr as Eli Manning’s backup.  Sorgi did not play last season due to a shoulder problem but he has been cleared to return to action for 2010.  Sorgi has played in 14 games in his NFL career and he has completed 99 of 156 passes (63.5%) for 929 yards with 6 TD passes and 1 INT (89.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 31 times for 0 yards (0.0 ypc) in his NFL career.  Sorgi doesn’t have David Carr’s arm strength but he is a solid backup QB.

The Giants have released 26-year old safety Aaron Rouse.  Rouse played in 14 games for the Giants last season in which he made 52 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, he defensed 4 passes and he had 1 sack.  The Giants shouldn’t miss Rouse too much as they have signed Antrel Rolle to take over at safety.

The Giants have signed 27-year old safety Antrel Rolle to a 5-year, $37 million dollar deal with $15 million of it guaranteed.  Rolle played in 15 games for the Cardinals last season and he made 72 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, he had 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, he defensed 8 passes and he had 4 interceptions.  Rolle has now played in 68 games in his NFL career and he has made 337 tackles, defensed 36 passes, he has 1.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and he has 12 interceptions (4 of which he returned for TDs).  This was a great signing for the Giants as Rolle is a big time playmaker at the back end of the defense.

The Giants have released 31-year old linebacker Antonio Pierce who was set to make $4.75 million bucks in 2010.  Pierce missed the last seven games of the 2009 season due to a bulging disk in his neck.  Pierce played in 9 games for the Giants last season and he made 55 tackles, had 3 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, he forced 1 fumble and defensed 3 passes.  In five years with the Giants, Pierce played in 69 games in which he made 490 tackles, defensed 32 passes, forced 6 fumbles, had 7 sacks and he intercepted 4 passes.  His injury probably played the biggest factor in his release as Pierce still has some game left.

The Giants found some keepers in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft last April but they didn’t finish the draft too well.  WR Hakeem Nicks (1st round, #29 overall) out of North Carolina made a huge impact for the Giants last season.  He played in 14 games in which he caught 47 passes for 790 yards (16.8 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  Nicks also carried the ball 2 times for 8 yards (4.0 ypc) and he also returned 1 kickoff for 16 yards.  Nicks has a huge upside as he could develop into one of the better receivers in the NFL down the road.  In the 2nd round (#45 overall) the Giants took LB Clint Sintim out of Virginia.  Sintim played in 11 games for the Giants last season and he made 20 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he had 1 sack.  OT William Beatty (2nd round, #60 overall) out of Connecticut played in all 16 games (4 starts) for the Giants as a rookie.  The 6′6″, 307 pound Beatty could develop into a full-time starter in the very near future for the Giants.  WR Ramses Barden (3rd round, #85 overall) out of Cal Poly only playing in 3 games for the Giants last season catching 1 pass for 16 yards.  TE Travis Beckum (3rd round, #100 overall) out of Wisconsin played in 15 games for the Giants last season in which he caught 8 passes for 55 yards (6.9 avg) and he also returned 1 kickoff for 3 yards.  RB Andre Brown out of North Carolina State (4th round, #129 overall) was on the Injured Reserve List the whole year.  QB Rhett Bomar (5th round, #151 overall) out of Sam Houston State stuck around last season but he didn’t play in any games for the Giants.  CB DeAndre Wright (6th round, #200 overall) out of New Mexico got cut by the Giants and signed by the Vikings but he didn’t play in any games for them.  CB Stoney Woodson (7th round, #238 overall) out South Carolina got cut by the Giants and picked up by the Buccaneers but he didn’t play at all for them last season.

GRADE FOR 2009:  C

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  B-