The Giants have signed 25-year old TE Martellus Bennett to a 1-year, $2.5 million dollar deal.  Bennett played in 14 games for the Cowboys last year and he caught 17 passes for 144 yards (8.5 avg).  Bennett has now played in 60 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has caught 85 passes for 846 yards (10.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Bennett will have a clear shot to start with the Giants due to an injury that will cause Jake Ballard to start the 2012 season late.

The Giants have re-signed 27-year old CB Terrell Thomas.  Thomas missed last season due to a torn ACL.  Thomas has played in 44 games in his first four years with the Giants and he has 231 tackles, 11 interceptions (1 returned for a TD), 38 passes defensed, 14 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks, 6 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  This was a good move for the Giants as Thomas is a good player when healthy and they need help at corner.

The New York Giants have released 29-year old RB Brandon Jacobs.  Jacobs played in 14 games for the Giants last year and he carried the ball 152 times for 571 yards (3.8 ypc) with 7 TD carries.  He also caught 15 passes for 128 yards (8.5 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Jacobs played in 100 games in his seven years with the Giants and he has carried the ball 1,078 times for 4,849 yards (4.5 ypc) with 56 TD runs.  He also caught 80 passes for 730 yards (9.1 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his time with the Giants.  Jacobs finished his career with the Giants as the #4 rusher with 4,849 yards rushing.  He is also the Giants’ all-time leader in TD runs with 56 of them.  This is a rough day as Brandon Jacobs had such a solid career with the Giants.  He is gone, but not forgotten.

The Giants have re-signed 24-year old TE Jake Ballard.  Ballard played in 14 games for the Giants last year and he caught 38 passes for 604 yards (15.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He played in 1 game for the Giants in 2010 but he didn’t catch any passes.  Many thought the Giants were going to miss Kevin Boss (he signed with the Raiders) last year, but Jake Ballard stepped up in 2012, so the Giants didn’t miss a beat at TE.  The Giants expect big things out of Jake Ballard.

The Giants have re-signed 24-year old CB Bruce Johnson.  Johnson played in 6 games for the Giants last year and he had 5 tackles.  He has now played in 22 games in his first two years with the Giants and he has 51 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 2 forced fumbles and 1 sack.  This was a good move for the Giants as Johnson will give them depth at CB in 2012.

The Giants have used their franchise tag on 29-year old punter Steve Weatherford .  He played in all 16 games for the Giants last year and he punted the ball 82 times for 3,745 yards (45.7 avg) with 6 touchbacks (7.3%) and nailing the opponents inside their own 20-yard line 25 times (30.5%).  Weatherford has now played in 94 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has punted the ball 445 times for 19,330 yards (43.4 avg) with 43 touchbacks (9.7%) and pinning the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 139 times (31.2%).  It was smart of the Giants to keep Weatherford for the 2012 season as he punted really well for them in 2011.

UPDATE:  (3/17/2012) – The Giants have signed Steve Weatherford to a 5-year, $12.75 million dollar deal.

The Giants have re-signed 27-year old WR Domenik Hixon.  Hixon played in only 2 games for the Giants last year in which he caught 4 passes for 50 yards (12.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 48 games in his first four years with the Giants and he has caught 63 passes for 838 yards (13.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  His real value comes on special teams.  Hixon has returned 51 punts for 561 yards (11.0 avg) with 1 TD return and 80 kickoffs for 1,966 yards (24.6 avg) with 1 TD return.  Hixon also has 31 tackles for the Giants so far in his career.  This was a good move for the Giants as Hixon is a good player when healthy.

The New York Giants will likely be without 24-year old TE Jake Ballard and 25-year old TE Travis Beckum when the 2012 begins as they are both recovering from torn ACLs.  Ballard didn’t show much in 2010 when he played in 1 game for the Giants in which he didn’t catch any passes.  But, in 2011, Ballard had a breakout season for the Giants.  He played in 14 games for the Giants last year and he caught 38 passes for 604 yards (15.9 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Ballard really stepped up for the Giants in 2011.  Beckum played in 13 games for the Giants last year and he caught 5 passes for 93 yards (18.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 44 games in his first three years with the Giants and he has caught 26 passes for 264 yards (10.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  Beckum also has 10 tackles and 2 forced fumbles as he helps out on special teams too.  The Giants might be looking for another TE to help out in free agency of the draft due to the injuries to Ballard and Beckum.

The Giants have re-signed 27-year old WR Isaiah Stanback to a reserve/futures contract.  He spent all of last year on the Giants’ practice squad.  He has played in 16 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has caught 5 passes for 46 yards (9.2 avg).  He also has returned 14 kickoffs for 318 yards (22.7 avg) so far in his NFL career.  Stanback will be an insurance policy in case the Giants lose some WRs to free agency.

The Giants have re-signed  25-year old RB Andre Brown to a reserve/futures contract.  He didn’t play in any games for the Giants last year as he spent the season on the practice squad.  He has now played in 4 games in his first two years with the Giants and he has carried the ball 2 times for -1 yard (-0.5 ypc).  Brown isn’t likely to have much of a role with the Giants if he makes the team next year.

UPDATE:  (3/30/2012) – Andre Brown has been suspended for the first four games of the 2012 season due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs.