New York Giants Sign TE Martellus Bennett: The Giants have signed unrestricted free agent TE Martellus Bennett (Dallas Cowboys). The contract is reportedly a 1-year, $2.5 million deal.
“We had a very good, open, forthright visit with Martellus today, and we are excited to have him join the Giants family,” said General Manager Jerry Reese. “He’s ready to go to work and wants to prove he can be one of the top tight ends in the NFL; we think the sky is the limit for him here.”
In Dallas, Bennett played behind All-Pro TE Jason Witten.
“In our situation it’s a perfect match, because here we are with two guys that aren’t going to be able to go,” Coach Tom Coughlin said, referring to injured tight ends Jake Ballard and Travis Beckum. “We get a guy with this quality and we can say to him, ‘You go out on the field, you go from less than 30 percent play time to 70-75-80 percent play time just by virtue of if you come here and if you are willing to pay the price to be what you want to be. Here’s the opportunity.'”
“What you have is a talented athlete who played behind an All-Pro,” Coughlin said. “Who is not very satisfied, is not very fulfilled, is anxious. He is anxious to prove the quality of athlete and football player that he can be. If you go back to ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, you can see spots where he flashes as what he could be. He feels like he hasn’t scratched the surface of what he can do. And he’s a young, aspiring, athletic tight end who can run. He’ll be up the seams at 6-6, 265. He can run up the seams with speed and be up over the top of a lot of people. So we’re excited about that. He’s got a ways to go, but he’ll work at it. This could be a terrific move for both him and us.”
“I’m just happy to be able to come here and get a chance to be the starter and work with a guy like Eli (Manning) and with guys around me like Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks,” Bennett said. “In Dallas it was the same thing with Dez (Bryant), but I think it’s different for me now because I get the chance to step up and really show what I can do.”
“In Dallas, my main role was to block, run block,” said Bennett. “I think I was a big part of the run offense that we had out there. I actually enjoy blocking, honestly. The thing I like about coming here, the situation here is that I don’t only have to block. I get a chance to do more things. Last year I only had 23 targets with the Cowboys and I played a whole lot of snaps. I think this year I’ll get a chance to show both ends of the spectrum. I don’t like to be labeled. I don’t want to be labeled as a pass-catching tight end or a blocking tight end. I just want to be a tight end.”
“My wife went to Sarah Lawrence (College) right outside of New York – her face was lighting up,” Bennett said. “So it’s a blessing to be out here and I’m going to honor it. And I’m humbled by this situation to come out here and get a chance to really play in a city like this and with the Super Bowl champions. They won two in the last four years, they’re always a contender and always a team that looks to be in the playoffs, just not trying to get to the playoffs. It’s like we’re expected to be in the playoffs.”
The transcript of yesterday’s media conference call with Bennett is available in The Corner Forum section of the website.
New York Giants Agree to Terms with QB David Carr: Though not officially announced, according to The Star-Ledger, the Giants have agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent QB David Carr. The Ledger also reports that Carr turned down a more lucrative offer with another team in order to stay with the Giants. The Daily News reports the contract is believe to be a 1-year deal.
Free Agent Rumblings: Unrestricted free agent WR Mario Manningham is drawing interest from the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers. Manningham will visit the 49ers today.
Unrestricted free agent CB Aaron Ross will visit the Cincinnati Bengals today and is scheduled to visit with the Washington Redskins on Friday.
Unrestricted free agent TE Jeremy Shockey (Carolina Panthers) has told the Giants he would like to return to his former team.
Giants.com Q&A With CB Terrell Thomas: The video of a recent Giants.com from Q&A with CB Terrell Thomas is available at Giants.com.