Getty Giants sign two former Tennessee Titans defensive backs.
The New York Giants secondary is becoming overrun with former Tennessee Titans — not that that’s a bad thing.
The team struck gold with the acquisition of Logan Ryan a season ago. The organization is hopeful that this year’s big-ticket free agent, Adoree Jackson, will offer a similar bang for his buck. Now, they’ve decided to go to Nashville once more, plucking two other ex-Titans for good measure.
The Giants have announced that they have signed defensive backs Joshua Kalu and Chris Milton as added depth on the backend. Each player has previous playing experience alongside both Ryan and Jackon from their Tennessee days.
In other roster news, the team also inked free-agent tight end Cole Hikutini to a deal.
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Sign up for the Heavy on Giants Newsletter!What Joshua Kalu Brings to the Giants
Originally signed by the Titans in 2018 as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska, Kalu has since appeared in 28 games over the past three seasons, including a career-high 15 in 2020. The 25-year-old safety’s shining moment in Tennessee came back in Week 10 of the 2019 season, when he helped secure a victory over the eventual Super Bowl Champion, Kansas City Chiefs. Kalu came off the edge as time was expiring, blocking a potential game-tying 52-yard field goal attempt by Harrison Butker.
The 6-foot, 203-pounder did log a career-best 91 defensive snaps this past season. However, it’s on special teams where the former Cornhusker has carved out a career. Kalu notched a career-high 281 special teams snaps (63%) in 2020 and has 493 special teams snaps under his belt since 2018.
Overall, Kalu has recorded 26 tackles (22 solo), one pass defended and one forced fumble over his NFL tenure. The Texas native was a highly productive collegiate player, collecting 215 career tackles and 27 passes defended over his four seasons at Nebraska, each of which ranks within the top-seven among defensive backs in the school’s history.
What Chris Milton Brings to the Giants
Like Kalu, Milton is a former undrafted free agent whose calling card is special teams. The Georgia Tech product was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts in 2016, where he would go on to spend the first three seasons of his NFL career. Over his Indy tenure, Milton appeared in 35 games (one start), collecting 28 tackles (21 solo), two passes defended and two fumble recoveries. Over that span, he logged 701 special teams snaps including a career-high 334 (74%) in 2017.
Milton eventually made his way to Nashville in 2019, where he’s played in 20 games over the past two seasons, adding an extra eight tackles (seven solo) to his career output. Over his five-year playing career, Milton has amassed 1,000 special teams snaps and has played at least 50% of his team’s special teams snaps in three of the past four seasons.
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