Although the new Giants regime made Devontae Booker one of a few notable cap casualties this offseason, they have circled back to Saquon Barkley‘s former backup.
Booker worked out for the Giants on Friday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Giants have not made major tweaks to their running back room since releasing Booker in March, only signing ex-Brian Daboll Bills charge Matt Breida as a possible backup.
Booker, 30, has not been connected to any other teams since being cut, but he has established himself as one of the league’s better backup backs. He has collected some decent (for a reserve running back) dough since leaving Denver. Most of that came from the Giants, who signed him to a two-year, $6MM deal in 2021.
Although Phillip Lindsay‘s quick emergence kept Booker on the bench to close out his Broncos contract, the former fourth-round pick caught on with both the Raiders and Giants. He played extensively for each team, totaling 1,016 rushing yards over the past two years. Booker filled in for Barkley during the latter’s latest injury hiatus, leading the 2021 Giants with 593 yards (4.1 per carry) and adding 40 receptions.
Another Giants pact would almost certainly not match the money Booker received during Dave Gettleman‘s GM regime, but the team’s backfield would not exactly be thrown off by bringing Booker back at a lower rate. The Giants have seen their starter run into extensive injury trouble over the past three seasons, and although Barkley has gone through his smoothest offseason in three years, the former Offensive Rookie of the Year probably needs to be backstopped with a proven insurance option.
Sign him. He’s the best #2 rb available to the Gmen.
he did some nice work and it would be smart to have him back