Giants Ink Punter Steve Weatherford To 5-Year Contract

Steve Weatherford, Giants Agree To 5-Year Contract

Prior to the start of free agency the New York Giants placed the franchise tag on punter Steve Weatherford, who's contract was set to expire. They can now remove that franchise tag.

According to Pro Football Talk, the Giants inked Weatherford to a five-year, $12.75 million deal. He'll be staying in New York for the long haul.

Weatherford was an undrafted free agent (as most punters are) with the New Orleans Saints prior to the 2006 season. He played two and a half seasons in New Orleans before spending time with the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played in New York, but with the Jets, in the 2009 and 2010 seasons before joining the Giants.

The Giants have been relatively quiet in free agency, adding TE Martellus Bennett. But I guess when you're the defending Super Bowl champs you don't need to be too aggressive in free agency.

For more on the signing, be sure to check in with Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York.

Jeremy Shockey Denies He Wants To Be A Giant, Feuds With Amani Toomer On Twitter

While there was a report out that free agent tight end Jeremy Shockey made it known he wanted to come back to the New York Giants, Shockey has taken to Twitter to deny that he's said he's interested in re-joining the Giants and claims the media is just trying to make money off of his name.

It's funny how the Ny media still try's to make money off me!Can anyone find a quote from me on me wanting to play for the GAINTS?

— Jeremy Shockey (@JeremyShockey) March 15, 2012

Interestingly enough after the initial Gary Myers report that Shockey was interested in coming back to the Giants, former New York Giants wide receiver and Shockey teammate Amani Toomer took to Twitter to express his displeasure for Shockey trying to come back to the team.

@garymyersNYDN No!!Shockey"I will never play4 you again!"he yelled at jerry Reese in 08. Let him keep his word. Bad teammate, worse person.

— Amani Toomer (@AmaniAToomer) March 15, 2012

Of course, because this was publicly displayed on Twitter, Jeremy Shockey got wind of Toomer's comments and made some disparaging comments of his own, including something very, very personal.

Amani Toomer on Jeremy Shockey: Bad teammate, Haha. Well he was the lazy one that broke my leg!!

— Jeremy Shockey (@JeremyShockey) March 15, 2012

@DonaldLongo @amaniatoomer yes remember when his ex divorced him and he urinated on a her cloths I guess he's the good person

— Jeremy Shockey (@JeremyShockey) March 15, 2012

@AmaniAToomer Go get a bucket of rocks and start throwing them at your glass house

— Jeremy Shockey (@JeremyShockey) March 15, 2012

/tugs collar

For more free agency updates go to SB Nation's Giants blog, Big Blue View.

Jeremy Shockey Wants To Be A Giant, According To Report

The New York Giants are coming off a Super Bowl victory and for the most part have their team intact. One position of need for the Giants however is at the tight end position, which the Giants struggled with all during the 2011 season. There's only a handful of free agent tight ends available, including Martellus Bennett who the Giants signed on Wednesday. A former Giants tight end is interested in coming back to New York, according to a report by Gary Myers of The New York Daily News.

Jeremy Shockey, who forced his way out of New York four years ago, needs a job and has let the Giants know he would like to return, the Daily News has learned.

The split between Shockey and the Giants didn't go so well as he was shipped off to the New Orleans Saints in the 2008 offseason. Towards the end of his tenure with the Giants, Shockey was not happy with being used more as a blocker than a receiver and according to Myers felt "left out" during the Giants 2007 Super Bowl run that Shockey missed dealing with a broken leg.

For more free agency updates go to SB Nation's Giants blog, Big Blue View.

Martellus Bennett Stays In NFC East, Joins New York Giants

Already equipped with one of the league's best tight ends, the Dallas Cowboys opted not to re-sign Martellus Bennett and allow him to hit free agency. After one day as a free agent, Bennett has signed with the division rival Cowboys. It's a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

Bennett was the Cowboys second round pick of the 2008 NFL draft but he wasn't going to move ahead of Jason Witten on the Cowboys roster.

The Giants need for a tight end is well known. Many mock drafts have been sending tight ends to the Giants. Instead, Bennett will join Jake Ballard on the Giants roster.

Bennett is big (6'7" and 248 pounds) and athletic so I think he could be a decent option in the Giants offense.

For more on the signing, be sure to check in with Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York. For a Cowboys perspective, visit Blogging The Boys and SB Nation Dallas.

Terrell Thomas, Giants Agree To Multi-Year Contract

Terrell Thomas has signed a multi-year contract to remain with the New York Giants. The deal comes as a bit of a surprise, as the cornerback missed all of 2011 with a knee injury. The size of the contract is also a bit of an eyebrow raiser, as the total deal is worth $28 million, according to the Star-Ledger.

"Coming off an (ACL) injury, it’s better to come back to the same team – you know the personnel and the staff and they know you," Thomas said in a team release. "You know the defense. My first choice was here, but I did open my eyes a little bit to free agency in case the Giants didn’t re-sign me. So I’m happy to be back."

The Star-Ledger report does suggest some caveats in the deal. The major one is that there's an option written into the deal. Although Thomas says there is $11 million guaranteed, there's no word on when he's guaranteed that money.

It's probably not surprising that the Giants were willing to take a chance. During Thomas' last two healthy seasons, he made 10 interceptions, played in all 32 games and registered 186 tackles.

For more on the signing, be sure to check in with Giants blog Big Blue View.

Giants Free Agency 2012: Mario Manningham On His Way Out

The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl for the second time in the last four years to cap off the 2011 NFL season. They should be set to make another run at the title in 2012 as they aren't losing any players that would be considered stars, but they do stand to lose a handful of players that helped the team get to the Super Bowl last season.

The biggest name player that will likely be lost other than running back Brandon Jacobs (who was actually cut) is wide receiver Mario Manningham, who had a huge game against the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Manningham was used mostly as a third wide receiver behind Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks, but he feels he deserves to be a team's top target and he wants to be paid as such. The Giants would like to keep Manningham in the Big Apple, but they probably won't be able to afford to do so.

When it comes to signing outside help in free agency, the Giants could use some extra help in the secondary. However, instead of spending a lot of money on expensive free agents, they're more likely to look to the draft, which has a deep and talented group of corners. The Giants probably in the best shape of any NFC East team.

For more free agency updates go to SB Nation's Giants blog, Big Blue View.

Brandon Jacobs Cut By The Giants

Brandon Jacobs and the Giants couldn't come to an agreement on a pay cut and the two sides will part ways.

Eli Manning Restructures Contract, Creates Cap Space For New York Giants

We finally have a story about someone in the Manning family. Except it's not that Manning.

Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger reports that Eli Manning recently restructured his contract with the New York Giants. It's not any more or less money, just a restructure to create cap space.

Manning had a $10.75 million base salary due next season but he reduced that to $1.75 million in base salary and took the remaining $9 million as a signing bonus. This allows the signing bonus to be pro-rated over the final years of the deal, creating more cap space for the Giants.

Teams often restructure contracts like this to create more cap space but it occasionally creates issues down the road as Manning will now have a higher cap number next season.

For more on the Giants, visit SB Nation's Giants blog, Big Blue View. And for more on New York Sports, check out SB Nation New York.

Punter Steve Weatherford Gets The Franchise Tag

The phrase "a punter got the franchise tag" makes one's ears perk up, but it's not nearly as silly as it sounds on the surface. The New York Giants hit punter Steve Weatherford with the franchise tag on Monday, making him one of the highest paid punters in the NFL. Weatherford, who has spent just one season with the Giants, was a key player in their Super Bowl victory and will make $2.6 million next season if he signs the franchise tender.

If the Giants feel that Weatherford is one of the five best punters in the league, they don't have salary cap problems and they didn't have another player worthy of the tag, the move makes sense. The 29-year-old Weatherford posted career highs in average yards and net punting average in 2011 and has played for five different teams in his NFL career.

For more on Weatherford and the Giants, head over to New York Giants blog Big Blue View and SB Nation New York.

Domenik Hixon Is Coming Back To The Giants In 2012

Domenik Hixon has re-signed with the New York Giants, the wide receiver announced Friday via his Twitter account. If the excess exclamation marks are any indication, the 6th-year wideout is quite excited.

I Just got done officially signing back with the Superbowl Champs!!! #blessed #readytoplay

— Domenik Hixon (@domenik_hixon) March 2, 2012

Hixon was placed on injured reserve in September after tearing his ACL on a touchdown catch during Week 2's game against the St. Louis Rams. In two games played, he caught four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown. With Mario Manningham on the outs, Hixon could reprise his role as a complementary deep threat to Hakeem Nicks.

Terms of Hixon's deal have not been revealed. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. Hixon signed a one-year contract with the Giants in March of 2011.

For all news and information regarding the New York Giants, please visit Big Blue View. For complete coverage of 2012 NFL free agents, check out SB Nation's dedicated free agency hub.

Giants, Brandon Jacobs Start Talking About A Return

The New York Giants have reportedly discussed the possibility of bringing back running back Brandon Jacobs for an eighth season, but not at his currently scheduled salary of $4.9 million (via Star-Ledger). Aside from the fact that Jacobs' effectiveness has waned in recent years, the Giants are also about $9 million over the salary cap. It's unclear if Jacobs is open to taking a big enough salary cut to fit him into the fold.

While Jacobs has shown to be effective in recent years, he has not come close to repeating his breakout year of 2008 when he rushed for 1,089 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. His eight touchdowns in 2011 were a positive sign, but he rushed for just 571 yards (his lowest total since 2006), averaged 3.8 yards per carry (the lowest figure since his rookie year) and fought injuries while playing in 14 games. General manager Jerry Reese indicated a decision could come soon.

For more on Jacobs' situation, be sure to check out Giants blog Big Blue View.

Giants Free Agency 2012: Mario Manningham Is On His Way Out

The New York Giants will have plenty of work to do in the offseason. As free agency approaches on March 13, it appears that at least one key player may be testing the open market.