The NY Giants have signed Brandon Meriweather to a free agent contract after injuries at the safety position to Landon Collins, Nat Berhe and Mykkele Thompson and Meriweather could end up being a key player with numerous defensive backs out with injuries for Big Blue, including Prince Amukamara, Trumaine McBride, Chykie Brown and Jayron Hosley.
The Giants weakest position on defense was at safety and the secondary is considered the weakest unit overall on defense coming into the season. The Giants just lost Collins to a knee injury that could keep him out for the preseason, while Berhe has been out with a calf. Mykkele Thompson is reportedly being placed on IR after suffering a torn ACL and that means he will be out for the season. According to NFL.com, the team added Meriweather on a deal and waived kicker Chris Boswell to make room for him.
Berhe was expected to start along with Collins, while Thompson was also expected to make an impact as a rookie this season. The team has Collins, Berhe and other players in the secondary dealing with minor injuries and the team needed a backup option in case other players go down. Meriweather has previously been in the Pro Bowl and he has experience playing against the NY Giants during his time with the Washington Redskins.
Meriweather comes in after playing in 10 games in 2014 and he ended up with 53 tackles last season and had 3.0 sacks, which were a career high for him. Meriweather played at Miami with Jon Beason and he was a draft pick for the Patriots back in 2007 and now he joins the Giants. According to Giants.com. Jon Beason, who previously was a teammate with Meriwether in college, said that Meriweather will be able to acclimate quickly to the team. Beason said that Meriwether will "make an impact on Saturday."
Check here for more on the Brandon Meriweather deal.
Updated above, more info from preseason game against the Bengals:
The Giants lost in Week 1 to the Bengals in the preseason and two players at the safety position suffered injuries with both Landon Collins and Mykkele Thompson going down. According to NFL.com, Collin suffered a sprained MCL injury and could be out for the rest of the preseason, while Thompson is likely going to miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. The Giants were already down Nat Berhe at the safety position and now players like Jeromy Miles, Cooper Taylor and Bennett Jackson will have to step up.
Collins was a second round pick for the Giants and he is expected to get significant playing time for the team, but NFL.com reports that if he is out 2-4 weeks, he likely will not play again in the preseason. Collins could be in line to play in Week 1 of the regular season if he does not have any setbacks in rehab. Collins was selected with the first pick of the second round and the Giants traded up for the safety from Alabama.
