New York Giants Sign Jordan Akins; Mini-Camp Ends

Jordan Akins – © USA TODAY Sports

NEW YORK GIANTS SIGN JORDAN AKINS…
The New York Giants have signed unrestricted free agent tight end Jordan Akins (Houston Texans) to a reported 1-year deal.

The 30-year old, 6’4”, 243-pound Akins was originally drafted in the 3rd round of the 2018 NFL Draft. He was older than most prospects because he spent four years in minor-league baseball before playing football in college. In his four seasons with the Texans, Akins played in 58 regular-season games with 23 starts, catching 114 passes for 1,260 yards and three touchdowns. His playing time in Houston declined in 2021 and he finished the year with 24 catches for 214 yards. Akins is regarded as a better receiver than blocker. (2020 Video Highlights)

GIANTS VOLUNTARY MINI-CAMP ENDS…
The Giants 3-day voluntary mini-camp ended on Thursday. There was no media access to the team on the final day of the mini-camp, which included non-contact individual and group instruction and drills, as well as classroom sessions.

The teams’s offseason program (Phase One) began on April 4th. The 3-day mini-camp marked the start of Phase Two.

• April 4: New York Giants offseason program begins.
• April 19-21: New York Giants voluntary mini-camp (allowed for teams with new coaches).
• May 13-15: New York Giants rookie mini-camp.
• May 16-17: New York Giants OTA #1 and #2.
• May 19: New York Giants OTA #3 (media access).
• May 23-24: New York Giants OTA #4 and #5.
• May 26: New York Giants OTA #6 (media access).
• May 31-June 1: New York Giants OTA #7 and #8.
• June 2: New York Giants OTA #9 (media access).
• June 3: New York Giants OTA #10.
• June 7-9: New York Giants mandatory mini-camp.

Per the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), teams are only allowed to hold voluntary offseason activities over the course of a 9-week period in three phases:

Phase One: Activities during this 2-week period are limited to to meetings, strength and conditioning, and physical rehabilitation only.

Phase Two: On-field workouts during this 3-week period may include may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as “perfect-play drills,” and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk-through pace. No live contact or team offense vs. team defense drills are permitted.

Phase Three: Activities during this 4-week period include 10 days of organized team practice activity (OTAs) and a mandatory veteran mini-camp. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permitted.