New York Giants Rumors: Devin Taylor and Gerald Hodges on Giants' Radar
The New York Giants have already made a lot of moves this offseason, but they are not done upgrading their defense.
According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, former Detroit Lions defensive end Devin Taylor was in town on Monday on a scheduled free agent visit, and ProFootballTalk's Mike Florio has also reported that the Giants were bringing in inside linebacker Gerald Hodges on Tuesday.
Taylor started all 16 games for the Lions last season, but he failed to live up to expectations. Last season, he only had 4.5 sacks as a full-time starter. Taylor actually played better in 2015, making seven sacks as a reserve.
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Taylor is an interesting option, though, because of his size and length. Olivier Vernon and Jason Pierre-Paul are cemented as the starters, but he can bring some experience to the second unit. Kerry Wynn, Owa Odighizuwa, Romeo Okwara and Avery Moss are the other defensive ends on the roster.
"Adding Taylor to the roster would also heighten the competition at defensive end and push players like Odighizuwa, Okwara and Wynn squarely onto the roster bubble entering training camp," NJ Advance Media's James Kratch said in his report.
Meanwhile, Hodges has already met with a number of teams this summer, but he has yet to sign with any of them. With Kelvin Sheppard out of the picture, Hodges may even compete for the starting middle linebacker job with Keenan Robinson and B.J. Goodson.
"He makes for a perfect fit for GM Jerry Reese's new strategy of signing free agents who are coming off of their rookie deals. Hodges would be the perfect fit in the middle and an upgrade over Robinson," 247Sports' Dan Schneier stated in his piece.
Taylor and Hodges are interesting options for the Giants, but their asking price has to be reasonable because the team's salary cap space is limited.
