Giants Sign Jalyn Holmes, Maurice Canady
Restrained in their approach to bolstering their edge rush for a few years, the Giants certainly changed that strategy this year via their Kayvon Thibodeaux pick. The team added another piece to its Thibodeaux-fronted edge mix Wednesday.
Former Vikings defensive end Jalyn Holmes signed with the Giants, who also added three more defenders. That includes cornerback Maurice Canady, a six-year veteran who spent last season with the Cowboys. Big Blue rounded out the signings by inking cornerback Khalil Dorsey and safety Henry Black.
A fourth-round pick out of Ohio State in 2018, Holmes received his most run as a Danielle Hunter replacement during the 2020 season. Despite starting nine games for that Vikings edition, Holmes did not record a sack. While he did add four quarterback hits, two tackles for loss and two pass deflections that year, his only NFL sack came during his rookie season. Holmes spent last season with the Saints.
The Giants have 2021 second-rounder Azeez Ojulari positioned to play alongside Thibodeaux and still roster 2019 third-rounder Oshane Ximines. Lorenzo Carter joined the Falcons as a free agent. New York also signed pass rusher Jihad Ward this offseason.
Canady, a Ravens sixth-rounder in 2016, has bounced around a bit and has worked mostly as a backup. He has started six games in six years but has extensive experience in new Giants defensive coordinator Don Martindale‘s system. Canady’s third and fourth Ravens seasons overlapped with Martindale’s Baltimore DC run. The soon-to-be 28-year-old defender played eight games for the Cowboys last season.
Black, 25, contributed for the Packers last season, playing 24% of their defensive snaps and intercepting a pass. He joins a safety corps that lost Logan Ryan and Jabrill Peppers this offseason. Dorsey played six games for Martindale’s Ravens defense in 2020; he was nontendered as an RFA in March.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/22
Today’s minor moves in the NFL:
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: CB Drew Hartlaub
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: OL Cole Banwart
- Waived: OL Ty Clary (failed physical)
New York Giants
- Signed: DL Ryder Anderson, DB Jordan Mosley
Giants Make Three More FO Additions
- Giants GM Joe Schoen continues to form his front office, and after adding two-time coworker Dennis Hickey to the mix, the first-year GM is hiring another former colleague. Chris Rossetti, who was with the Dolphins during Schoen’s mid-2010s tenure, will become the Giants’ new director of pro scouting, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com tweets. Rossetti was most recently the Dolphins’ assistant pro scouting director. Big Blue is also hiring Mike Derice as a national scout, InsideTheLeague.com’s Neil Stratton tweets. Derice, a Brooklyn native, worked as a Colts area scout for the past 10 years. The Giants are adding an area scout as well, announcing the hire of Scott Hamel, who spent the past seven years with the Bears under Ryan Pace.
Giants Agree To Terms With First-Round DE Kayvon Thibodeaux, OT Evan Neal
The Giants have agreed to terms with their two first-round picks. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reports (on Twitter), that the Giants will sign defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and offensive tackle Evan Neal to their rookie pacts following practice today.
Thibodeaux’s four-year rookie deal is worth a fully guaranteed $31.3MM (not including the non-guaranteed fifth-year option), per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan (on Twitter). The four fully guaranteed years on Neal’s contract are worth $24.6MM.
Thibodeaux was a candidate to go first-overall, but he was ultimately selected by the Giants with the fifth-overall pick. In three years at Oregon, Thibodeaux led the squad in sacks and tackles for loss. He finished his career with 19.0 sacks and 35.5 tackles for loss, and he also added 14 quarterback hurries over his career, leading the team last year with eight. In early February, Thibodeaux started to see his draft stock affected in a way not uncommon to Oregon alumni, with one pundit questioning the player’s”fire.”
Neal’s status as the top blocker in this year’s class was challenged by NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu throughout the draft process. At one point, the Alabama product was the definitive top OT prospect in the draft, but his stock seemingly fell a bit leading up to the draft. Despite falling below Ekwonu, Neal was still selected with the seventh-overall pick. At six-foot-seven, 360 pounds, Neal’s size and frame are certainly NFL-ready. He projects well as a powerful right tackle, though he started every game this season on the blindside. He earned a PFF grade of 84.5 for the 2021 season, in which he was a consensus First-Team All American.
Once the two signings are complete, 20 of the draft’s 32 first-round picks will have inked their rookie pacts, including every player in the top-eight (per Pelissero on Twitter).
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/13/22
Several more mid- and late-round picks agreed to terms on their four-year rookie contracts Friday. Here are the latest agreements:
Denver Broncos
- TE Greg Dulcich (third round, UCLA)
Detroit Lions
- LB Malcolm Rodriguez (sixth round, Oklahoma State)
- LB James Houston (sixth round, Jackson State)
Houston Texans
- WR John Metchie III (second round, Alabama)
- TE Teagan Quitoriano (fifth round, Oregon State)
- OL Austin Deculus (sixth round, LSU)
Indianapolis Colts
- S Nick Cross (third round, Maryland)
Los Angeles Chargers
- DL Otito Ogbonnia (fifth round, UCLA)
- CB Ja’Sir Taylor (sixth round, Wake Forest)
- CB Deane Leonard (seventh round, Ole Miss)
- FB Zander Horvath (seventh round, Purdue)
Miami Dolphins
- QB Skylar Thompson (seventh round, Kansas State)
New England Patriots
- CB Marcus Jones (third round, Houston)
- RB Kevin Harris (sixth round, South Carolina)
New Orleans Saints
- LB D’Marco Jackson (fifth round, Appalachian State)
- DT Jordan Jackson (sixth round, Air Force)
New York Giants
- LB Micah McFadden (fifth round, Indiana)
- DT D.J. Davidson (fifth round, Arizona State)
- OG Marcus McKethan (fifth round, North Carolina)
- LB Darrian Beavers (sixth round, Cincinnati)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- WR George Pickens (second round, Georgia)
- TE Connor Heyward (sixth round, Michigan State)
- LB Mark Robinson (seventh round, Ole Miss)
- QB Chris Oladokun (seventh round, South Dakota State)
Giants Sign 13 UDFAs
The Giants have become the latest team to announce their UDFA signings. Here are the players they have brought in to fill out their offseason roster:
- TE Austin Allen, Nebraska
- RB Jashaun Corbin, Florida State
- S Yusuf Corker, Kentucky
- DT Jabari Ellis, South Carolina
- CB Darren Evans, LSU
- LB Tomon Fox, North Carolina
- CB Zyon Gilbert, Florida Atlantic
- FB Jeremiah Hall, Oklahoma
- DT Christopher Hinton, Michigan
- TE Andre Miller, Maine
- G Josh Rivas, Kansas State
- S Trenton Thompson, San Diego State
- DT Antonio Valentino, Florida
Before the team confirmed these signings, reports had come out regarding guaranteed money for some of them. The biggest investment was made into Hinton, who will receive $100K in base salary, coupled with a $15K signing bonus, per Dan Duggan of the Athletic (Twitter link). In three seasons with the Wolverines, he played a rotational role, making a career-high 32 tackles this season for the Big Ten champions.
Duggan also reports that Corbin will likewise receive $100K in base pay, along with a $10K signing bonus. After two years at Texas A&M, he transferred to Florida State. His first year with the Seminoles saw him produce 516 scrimmage yards and five touchdowns, but he took a step forward this season. In 2021, he led the ACC in yards per carry with 6.2, showcasing on a number of occasions his home-run ability with long touchdown runs en route to earning Third-Team all-conference honors. He will compete with Antonio Williams, Gary Brightwell and Sandro Platzgummer for the final spots on the depth chart behind Saquon Barkley and Matt Breida.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/11/22
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: DT Xavier Kelly
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: LB Azur Kamara
Chicago Bears
- Claimed (from Giants): TE Rysen John
- Waived/failed physical: TE Jesper Horsted
Detroit Lions
- Waived: QB Steven Montez
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed (from Colts): TE Eli Wolf
- Waived: WR Chris Blair
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Waived: OL Jared Hocker
New England Patriots
- Claimed (from Lions): TE Matthew Sokol
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: RB Josh Adams, DT Braxton Hoyett
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Reverted to IR: CB Isaiah Johnson
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/10/22
Today’s minor transactions:
Chicago Bears
- Reverted to IR: LB Ledarius Mack
Detroit Lions
- Waived: LB Tavante Beckett, OLB Rashod Berry, CB Parnell Motley, TE Jared Pinkney (injury settlement), TE Matt Sokol
Indianapolis Colts
- Released: T Shon Coleman, LB Malik Jefferson
- Waived: TE Farrod Green, TE Eli Wolf
Kansas City Chiefs
- Waived: QB Anthony Gordon, RB Brenden Knox, OT Gene Pryor, DT Darius Stills
New York Giants
- Waived: LB Omari Cobb, TE Jake Hausmann, TE Rysen John, OL Wes Martin
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Waived: LB Tegray Scales, LS Rex Sunahara
- Waived-injured: CB Isaiah Johnson
Giants Hire Ex-Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey
Former Dolphins GM Dennis Hickey will link up with Joe Schoen again. Coworkers in Miami and Buffalo, Schoen and Hickey will now team up with the Giants, Neil Stratton of InsidetheLeague.com tweets.
Hickey will serve as the Giants’ assistant director of player personnel, according to the Bergen Record’s Art Stapleton (on Twitter), after having spent the past five years with the Bills. The veteran exec finished his Buffalo tenure as a senior national scout.
[RELATED: Giants Name Brandon Brown Assistant GM]
Schoen worked under Hickey with the Dolphins in the mid-2010s, being promoted twice — to assistant college scouting director and then to director of player personnel — during the latter’s short time as the team’s GM. Schoen stayed on in that role following Hickey’s January 2016 Dolphins exit, before leaving in 2017 to become the Bills’ assistant GM.
Hickey’s Dolphins GM run lasted just two years, and he wielded less power than that job usually provides. The Dolphins did not hire a head coach during Hickey’s tenure but brought in Mike Tannenbaum to oversee their football operations a year into the former’s Miami stay. Hickey, however, played a key role in helping the Bills construct their late-2010s rebuild and will now attempt to aid the Giants’ reconstruction effort.
Giants, Texans Had James Bradberry Trade In Place; Chiefs Still On Radar?
It appears the Giants found a taker for James Bradberry‘s contract, but discussions on a prospective extension scuttled the deal, leading the veteran cornerback to free agency.
The Texans and Giants had a trade in place, according to The Athletic’s Dan Duggan, one that would have seen Houston send a late-round pick to New York for the seventh-year cornerback (subscription required). These talks occurred before the draft, and Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com notes the Texans are not believed to be in play for Bradberry as a free agent (Twitter link). Houston has since signed Steven Nelson and drafted Derek Stingley Jr. third overall.
The Giants agreed to pay part of Bradberry’s $13.4MM salary, per Duggan, but Wilson adds the sides were more than $5MM apart on a long-term extension. Bradberry was going into a contract year, but the Texans wanted to lock him down beyond 2022 upon acquiring him. By cutting Bradberry, the Giants will save more than $10MM. The former Panthers second-round pick, who signed a three-year deal worth $45MM with the Giants in 2020, will almost certainly play on a much lower salary this season.
Previously mentioned as a Bradberry suitor, the Chiefs are expected to look into him again, Wilson tweets. Kansas City lost Charvarius Ward in free agency but did use its first draft choice on Washington corner Trent McDuffie. Multiyear contributor Rashad Fenton remains with the team, though he is currently rehabbing a shoulder injury that leaves him uncertain to start training camp on time, as does versatile defender L’Jarius Sneed.
No serious pay-cut discussions between the Giants and Bradberry commenced, per Duggan, and the team passed on an automatic restructure of adding a void year to defray some of Bradberry’s cap hit to 2023. Because of this expected separation, the Giants became quite thin at corner. They drafted potential slot option Cordale Flott in Round 3 and have 2021 third-rounder Aaron Robinson as well, but Adoree’ Jackson moves up to the No. 1 spot for the rebuilding team.