Giants Cut Four Players, Officially Sign Five Rookie Free Agents

 Posted by
May 122014
 
Thomas Gordon, Michigan Wolverines (January 1, 2013)

Thomas Gordon – © USA TODAY Sports Images

New York Giants Cut Four Players, Officially Sign Five Rookie Free Agents: The New York Giants announced on Monday that they have terminated the contract of quarterback Rusty Smith and waived linebacker Allen Bradford, cornerback Junior Mertile, and punter Jordan Gay.

The Giants also confirmed that they have signed the following five undrafted rookie free agents:

  • DE Kerry Wynn (Richmond)
  • DT Kelcy Quarles (South Carolina)
  • DT Eathyn Manumaleuna (BYU)
  • LB Justin Anderson (Louisiana-Lafayette)
  • S Thomas Gordon (Michigan)

Head Coach Tom Coughlin said on WFAN that the Giants signed 11 undrafted rookie free agents so the announcement on the other six should be released shortly. Others who the Giants have unofficially been linked to include tight end Xavier Grimble (USC), defensive end Emmanuel Dieke (Georgia Tech), defensive end Jordan Stanton (James Madison), linebacker Dan Fox (Notre Dame), and safety C.J. Barnett (Ohio State).

Scouting reports on the rookie free agents are available in the New York Giants 2014 NFL Draft Review and Rookie Free Agent Signings section of the website. We have also updated the Transactions, Roster, and Depth Chart sections of the website.

Rookies Arriving Sights & Sounds Video: A video of some of the New York Giants rookies arriving at the Timex Performance Center is available at Giants.com.

New York Giants Sign Rusty Smith, Re-Sign Dallas Reynolds

 Posted by
Apr 282014
 
Rusty Smith, Tennessee Titans (August 17, 2013)

Rusty Smith – © USA TODAY Sports Images

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New York Giants Sign QB Rusty Smith: The New York Giants announced on Monday that they have officially signed unrestricted free agent quarterback Rusty Smith (Tennessee Titans). Terms of the deal are not yet known.

BBI scouting report on Smith:

The Giants signed Rusty Smith as an unrestricted free agent from the Tennessee Titans in April 2014. Smith was originally drafted in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the Titans. In his four seasons with the Titans, Smith was only activated on game day three times, starting one game his rookie season. The Titans waived him August 2013, but re-signed him to their Practice Squad and later 53-man roster. In the three regular-season NFL games that Smith has played in, he completed 23-of-45 passes for 234 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. Smith has excellent size and a strong arm, but he could not nail down the #2 quarterback position in Tennessee.

The Giants now have five quarterbacks on their roster, the others being Eli Manning, Curtis Painter, Ryan Nassib, and Josh Freeman. Manning underwent arthroscopic ankle surgery on April 10 and is not expected to return to the practice field until training camp in July.

Because of this move, we have updated the New York Giants Free Agent Signings (with scouting report), New York Giants 2014 Free Agency Scorecard, Roster, and Depth Chart sections of the website.

New York Giants Re-Sign OL Dallas Reynolds: According to NFL Player Association records and CBSSports.com, the Giants re-signed exclusive rights free agent offensive lineman Dallas Reynolds on April 21. Newsday had reported that Reynolds was re-signed in early March, but that report apparently was premature.

Because of this move, we have updated the New York Giants Free Agent Signings (with scouting report), New York Giants 2014 Free Agency Scorecard, and Roster sections of the website.

Article on LT Will Beatty: Will Beatty, unsure of return date, says ‘who knows the future? by Conor Orr of The Star-Ledger

BBI on Giants.com Big Blue Kickoff Live: The audio of Eric Kennedy being interviewed on Giants.com’s Big Blue Kickoff Live podcast on Monday is available at Giants.com. Eric joins the show at the 30-minute mark of the broadcast.

QB Rusty Smith Visits Giants; Robert Ayers Admires Justin Tuck

 Posted by
Apr 062014
 
Rusty Smith, Tennessee Titans (August 17, 2013)

Rusty Smith – © USA TODAY Sports Images

Quarterback Rusty Smith Visits Giants: According to the National Football Post and New York Daily News, unrestricted free agent quarterback Rusty Smith (Tennessee Titans) worked out for the New York Giants on Friday. The 27-year old Smith was drafted by the Titans in the 6th round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Florida Atlantic University.

In four seasons with the Titans, Smith has only been active three times with one start his rookie season. He has completed 23-of-45 passes for 234 yards with no touchdowns and four interceptions (29.3 quarterback rating). Smith has very good size (6’5”, 226 pounds) and a strong arm.

Robert Ayers Admires Justin Tuck: Recently signed unrestricted free agent defensive end Robert Ayers (Denver Broncos) says he admires the man he is possibly replacing: defensive end Justin Tuck, who signed with the Oakland Raiders earlier this offseason.

“Justin Tuck was kind of a guy that I idolized for a lot of my career throughout college and even in the NFL,” Ayers said on a SiriusXM Radio on Saturday. “I felt like I could play the same way and be that type of guy.”

Like Tuck, the Broncos have moved Ayers around the defensive line, playing both end spots and sometimes moving inside at defensive tackle in certain situations. Unlike Tuck, the Broncos also played Ayers at linebacker for two seasons.

“(The Giants) didn’t have to sell me too much on (their) scheme,” said Ayers. “The opportunity was there and I felt I could take advantage of it.”

Ayers will wear Tuck’s old jersey number – 91 – the same number he wore in Denver.

Ayers said he received interest from the Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, and Dallas Cowboys in free agency.

“I feel like (the Giants were) a perfect fit,” said Ayers.

Ayers is also glad he is joining ex-Broncos cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, receiver returner Trindon Holliday, and center J.D. Walton.

“That’s gonna be huge to have some familiar faces come to New York with me,” said Ayers, “and they were some of the top players on the team.”

Quotes: Antrel Rolle on all of the new free agents the Giants have signed: “(The offseason has) been very explosive. We added some key guys to our program that can definitely help us out and help us win and contribute right away to our plan that we have going on for the 2014 season.”