Jerry Reese Talks Free Agents
Giants general manager Jerry Reese spoke to reporters today about how the new Giants free agent acquisitions will fit on the team.
Do the signings mean the Giants are nervous about the health of Fred Robbins and Barry Cofield?
“We expect those guys to make full recoveries, but you always want to protect yourself in that respect,” Reese said. “The No. 1 reason is we thought we wore down the latter part of last season with our front. We didn’t get the pass rush we’ve grown accustomed to having. Our two inside guys were banged up. Tuck was banged up some and Kiwi was playing a lot of snaps, so we’ll have more manpower with Canty and Rocky up front. Right now we have seven guys who we think can be starters for anybody.”
Will Mathias Kiwanuka stay up front at defensive end?
“Kiwi will still be a defensive end, yes,”
Since there are now four interior lineman and three defensive ends on the roster that are capable of starting, is there concern playing time could become an issue?
“With our rotation, these guys will play more football than they want,” Reese said. “That’s not an issue for me. That’s a good thing, as far as I’m concerned, that we have enough guys to cry about playing time. I don’t anticipate that being an issue, with 16 games and playoffs there’s plenty of playing time for everyone.”
Regarding Derrick Ward signing in Tampa.
“We’re happy for him and think that was a good move for Tampa Bay,” Reese said.
Did his agent offer to re-sign for less with the Giants?
“His agent let us know what was on the table with them,” Reese said. “There was no bartering involved. They kept us abreast of what was going on with them, but we never discussed whether we would match an offer or not.”
How serious was your pursuit of Albert Haynesworth?
“We were serious. I think everybody was serious about Albert Haynesworth,” Reese said. “Everybody would want a big monster like that in the middle. I’ve seen reports where we offered $80 million that’s not true. We did make a good offer. We wanted to put our toe in the water. It would be awful for us to not even put our toe in the water and the guy goes to his press conference in Washington and says, ‘I really wanted to be a Giant, but they never offered me anything.’ So we always do our due diligence in that respect. We made a nice offer, but obviously, it wasn’t in that ball park.”
Can you comment on Amani Toomer’s situation?
“Amani’s a free agent. I can say this about Amani Toomer, I would not bet against Amani Toomer, in any respect, I would not bet against him.”
Would you bet against the Giants making an offer to re-sign him?
“You never say never,” Reese said.
Where does Chris Canty play?
“He’s going to play all over the front,” Reese said. “I can see Bill Sheridan using these guys in a variety of different ways. He’ll play end. He’ll play tackle. He might even play some over the nose. He has that skill set to play anywhere on the front.”
Are you looking for help at wide receiver?
“We’re always looking to get better at every position and receiver is one of them,” Reese said.
Do you have a No. 1 receiver at this point?
“We have guys we like, guys who we expect to step up and play bigger roles, but we’ll continue to try to upgrade that position, as well,” Reese said. “We have good players at that position. Who knows who’s going to step out of the shadows and be the guy. Again, we’ll continue to try to upgrade that spot, but we have good guys at that position right now. We could go into the fall with these guys, but we’re definitely going to try to upgrade that position.”
Boley and Rocky Bernard have faced domestic violence charges in the past, any concerns?
“That’s always a concern for us. We always look at character,” Reese said. “There were a couple of isolated issues that are pretty much resolved. We did our homework on them. We’re pretty pleased with the answers we’ve got. We’re not afraid of what we’ve brought to the table with these two guys.”
You have nine picks, and could get more supplemental picks, do you have room on this roster for 10 or 11 rookies?
“We’ll try to do what’s best for the New York Giants,” Reese said. “There’s a lot of things that could happen before the draft, so who knows, we might not have that many picks when we’re done. If you have 10 or 11 players who make your team, you’re probably not that strong if all those guys make your team. We’ll see what happens. Maybe we won’t have that many picks. If we have that many picks, we’ll choose the best we can. We like a lot of competition.”
Did you consider T.J. Houshmandzadeh?
“Again, we look at everybody, but he was really not on the radar in a big way for us,” Reese said. “No offer was made.”
The future of Plaxico Burress is still in limbo?
“Sure it’s still in limbo because the legal process has not taken place,” Reese said. “We’ll see what happens with that. Right now he’s still a Giant, and if things work out and he’s on board with what we want coming back, we’d love to have him back.”
Will Burress participate in team’s offseason activity?
“I’m not sure what will happen because there’s some legal issues,” Reese said. “I think he wants to get all those resolved and we’ll see what happens as far as offseason stuff goes.”
