What Do New York Giants’ New Veteran Signings Mean for Quarterback, Receiver Units?

What Do New York Giants’ New Veteran Signings Mean for Quarterback, Receiver Units?

The arrivals of Nathan Rourke and Allen Robinson don’t necessarily mean that Daniel Jones and Darius Slayton have anything to worry about.

Geoff Magliocchetti


Wide receiver Allen Robinson II / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Out with the old and in with the new?

Not necessarily, according to New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who spoke about the team’s two newest veteran acquisitions, quarterback Nathan Rourke and wide receiver Allen Robinson II, before the team ran the second and final practice of its rookie minicamp.

Daboll denied that the additions of Rourke and Robinson had anything to do with quarterback Daniel Jones or receiver Darius Slayton, two players whose statuses have been widely thought to be on less than solid footing for the long term.

Rourke, who starred in the Canadian Football League, was acquired off waivers by the Giants last week, giving the team an additional arm for the rest of the spring and for the summer in the event incumbent Daniel Jones isn’t cleared medically from his ACL rehab to take his full allotment of reps.

“(I) thought it was a good claim,” head coach Brian Daboll said of Rourke. “(General manager Joe Schoen) put a claim in, we got him,” Daboll said of Rourke, who spent less than a day on the waiver wire. “(We) have another arm. (He) did some good stuff in the CFL and watched his stuff at Jacksonville, he was at the Patriots, thought he was a good player to add.”

Nathan Rourke

Nathan Rourke / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USARourke threw 25 touchdown passes in the latter two seasons with the BC Lions. He’s currently projected as the fourth quarterback on the Giants’ depth chart behind Jones, Drew Lock, and Tommy DeVito.

In his first two seasons as Giants head coach, Daboll carried three quarterbacks during summer camp. He offered a vague response when asked if Rourke’s arrival had anything to do with where Jones was in his rehab.

“(Jones) has been going through Phase 2 (of rehab). We’ll see where we are in Phase 3,” Daboll said. “We thought Nathan was a good  player to add to the roster.”

The arrival of Robinson, a 2015 Pro Bowler who also led the league in receiving touchdowns that season, raised some questions regarding the long-term future of Darius Slayton, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2019 who has been the receiving yardage leader in four of the last five seasons.

Slayton, who signed a two-year contract extension last off-season, has opted to skip the voluntary workouts this spring because he would prefer not to go into the coming season as a lame duck.

That said, according to head coach Brian Daboll, Robinson’s arrival has nothing to do with Slayton’s situation.

“(Robinson) had a good workout and has been a productive player for a while,” Daboll said of the veteran receiver, who signed a one-year deal with the club. “We’ve had good conversations. (We) ended up choosing to come here (and we’re) happy to have him.”

Robinson, 30, spent last season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, his fourth team since entering the league as Jacksonville’s second-round choice in 2014.

While Robinson mustered only 280 yards in 17 games for Pittsburgh (the lowest full-season output of his career), he adds experience to the Giants receiving room.

The Giants begin Phase 3 of their off-season program, the OTA part, on May 20 and will conclude the spring practices with a three-day mandatory minicamp scheduled for June 11-13.

hephziba860@gmail.com

Learn More →

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *