The New York Giants have continued to focus on adding reinforcements to both their offensive and defensive line in free agency.
On Wednesday, March 23, the team signed defensive tackle Justin Ellis to a one-year deal, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported.
Ellis, 31, joins Jihad Ward as the latest player to reunite with defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale in East Rutherford.
Ellis spent the last three seasons on Martindale’s defense with the Baltimore Ravens. During this span, the run-stuffing nose tackle made eight starts in 34 games, while collecting a total of 41 tackles.
Ellis will essentially replace defensive tackle Austin Johnson on the Giants’ defense, who signed with the Los Angeles Chargers on March 16.
The Louisiana Tech University product was selected by the Las Vegas Raiders in the fourth-round of the 2014 NFL draft. He went onto make the Pro Football Writers Association’s All-Rookie Team in his first year in the league, and spent a total of five seasons with the Raiders.
Ellis’ most productive campaign came back in 2017, where he recorded 48 tackles, a half sack and one tackle for a loss.
Ward Contract Details
Ward, another former Raven, who signed with the Giants on March 21, had his contract details released two days later.
According to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, Ward will receive a one-year, $1.2 million deal. Ward’s contract will include $352,000 in guaranteed money. As Duggan went onto report, Ward’s deal will count as $1 million against the salary cap.
The veteran defensive end appeared in 21 games for the Ravens from 2019 to 2020. In Martindale’s system, Ward collected four sacks, 12 quarterback hits and five tackles for a loss.
Ward has experience as a pass rusher on the both the edge and interior line. He has produced 10 career sacks and 37 quarterback hits since entering the league in 2016.
Ward will factor into the equation as a depth piece in a group of pass rushers on the Giants’ defense that includes Azeez Ojulari, Quincy Roche and Leonard Williams.
Trade for a Quarterback?
While the Giants appear to be content with entering the season with Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback, one sports media personality believes they should go in a different direction.
FS1’s Skip Bayless, who has made a living off controversial hot takes, thinks the Giants should trade for former No. 1 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft Baker Mayfield. According to Bayless, the Giants should go after Mayfield because he can “light up New York City.”
“I’ll start with the New York Giants: Baker Mayfield or Daniel Jones? Baker would light up New York City. He would eat up with that team in that division.” — @RealSkipBayless
Mayfield’s time with the Cleveland Browns seems to be coming to an end after the team acquired Deshaun Watson from the Houston Texans on March 18.
Now, the Browns are looking to trade Mayfield, who has served as their No. 1 quarterback for the past four seasons. During this span, Mayfield has thrown for 14,125 yards and 92 touchdowns. But overall, Mayfield’s play has been inconsistent, resulting in a 29-30 record as a starter in his career.
Mayfield helped Cleveland end their 18-year playoff drought in 2020, where they blew out the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild-card round. But last season, Mayfield dealt with a partially torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder, and produced an underwhelming campaign: 3,010 yards, 17 touchdowns, 13 interceptions and a 60.5% completion rate in 14 games.
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Giants Sign Former All-Rookie Defender With Ties to Wink Martindale