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The Giants have signed 30-year old G/T Stacy Andrews. Andrews played in 13 games (12 starts) for the Seahawks last year. He has now played in 85 games (46 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL. Andrews is a huge man at 6’7″, 340 pounds….so he certainly adds size to the Giants’ O-Line. I think this was a good move for the Giants as I see him starting somewhere along the O-Line in 2011.
The Giants have signed 24-year old RB Andre Brown. Brown played in 4 games (0 starts) in his rookie season last year and he carried the ball 2 times for -1 yard (-0.5 ypc). Brown has well traveled as a rookie as he played for the Colts, Redskins, Panthers and Broncos. Brown will be given a shot to win a backup job which means he will likely have to prove his worth on special teams in training camp and the pre-season.
The Giants have signed 27-year old DT Gabe Watson. Watson played in 7 games for the Cardinals last year and he had 7 tackles. Watson has now played in 62 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 105 tackles, 7 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery and 2 passes defensed. The Giants are taking a low risk flier on Watson as they will try to light a fire under him.
UPDATE: (9/4/2011) – The Giants have released Gabe Watson.
The Giants have signed 26-year old TE Ben Patrick to a 1-year deal. Patrick played in 15 games (7 starts) for the Cardinals last year and he caught 15 passes for 123 yards (8.2 avg). He has now played in 42 games (20 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 45 passes for 446 yards (9.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs. The Giants hope that Patrick will be backing up Kevin Boss in 2011. Boss is still shopping his wares in free agency.
UPDATE: (8/8/2011) – Ben Patrick has abruptly decided to retire from the NFL.
The Giants have signed QB David Carr. Carr played in 1 game (0 starts) for the 49ers last year and he completed 5 of 13 passes (38.5%) for 67 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (23.6 QB Rating). Carr played back in 2008 and 2009 with the Giants. In those two years with the Giants, he played in 9 games (0 starts) in which he completed 30 of 45 passes (66.7%) for 340 yards with 3 TD passes and 0 INTs (111.3 QB Rating). Carr also carried the ball 17 times for 37 yards (2.2 ypc) with 1 TD run for the Giants. Carr has now played in 92 games (79 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has completed 1,351 of 2,264 (59.7%) passes for 14,433 yards with 65 TD passes and 71 INTs (74.9 QB Rating). Carr also carried the ball 302 times for 1,331 yards (4.4 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his NFL career so far. It will be interesting to see if David Carr gets a chance to compete with Sage Rosenfels for the #2 QB job in training camp. If nothing else, adding Carr gives the Giants nice QB depth on the roster.
The Giants have signed 28-year old center Chris White. White played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Seahawks last year. He has now played in 33 games (8 starts) in his first six years in the NFL. White will provide depth on the interior of the O-Line for the Giants. You can never have enough capable centers and guards, so I like this signing for the Giants.
The Giants have signed 28-year old punter Steve Weatherford. Weatherford played in all 16 games for the Jets last year and he punted the ball 84 times for 3,581 yards (42.6 avg). He had only 4 touchbacks (4.8%) and he pinned the opposing team inside their own 20-yard line an amazing 42 times (50%)! He has now played in 78 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has punted the ball 363 times for 15,585 yards (42.9 avg). He has 37 touchbacks (10.2%) and he has pinned the opposing team inside their 20-yard line 114 times (31.4%) in his NFL career. Weatherford will compete with second year punter Matt Dodge for the punting job for the Giants in 2011.
The Giants moved quickly to improve the offensive line as they have signed 29-year old center Davis Baas to a multi-year contract. Baas was the best free agent center available and he should be a nice fit in the middle of the Giants’ rebuilt O-Line. Baas played in 16 games (all starts) for the 49ers last year. He has played in 92 games (54 starts) in his first six years in the NFL, as he is a late bloomer. This was a outstanding signing for the Giants.
The Giants have signed 28-year old WR Michael Clayton. Clayton played in 13 games for the Buccaneers last season and he caught 16 passes for 230 yards (14.4 avg) with 1 TD grab. He has now played in 84 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has caught 221 passes for 2,936 yards (13.3 avg) with 10 TD grabs. Clayton hasn’t been good since his rookie season, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
The Giants have signed 26-year old WR Derek Hagan. Hagan played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Giants last season and he finished up with 8 catches for 101 yards (12.6 avg) with 1 TD grab. He has now played in 52 games (1 start) in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 61 passes for 746 yards (12.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs. Hagan will battle 23-year old rookie Duke Calhoun for the #3 WR job until Steve Smith is ready to return to action. Calhoun has played in 3 games for the Giants so far this year and he is yet to catch a pass. He does have 1 tackle and a fumble recovery this year.