The Giants took a look at a few veterans -- one a whole lot more veteran than the others -- during their rookie minicamp and decided to sign two of them.
Why not?
The Giants took a look at a few veterans — one a whole lot more veteran than the others — during their rookie minicamp and decided to sign two of them, adding wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and running back Corey Clement to the roster.
Benjamin is a 30-year old who has not played in the NFL since the 2018 season. He was a 2014 first-round draft pick of the Panthers — Giants general manager Dave Gettleman made the selection when he was running the show in Carolina — and had a highly productive rookie season, with 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns.
Benjamin was listed as a tight end as he attended the Giants’ camp on a tryout basis. At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, he resembled and moved more like a tight end in workouts Friday and Saturday.
“We’re going to work different guys at a variety of things right now,” head coach Joe Judge said of Benjamin. “He’s a big guy. He’s always been a big receiver. He’ll work receiver. He’s working a little bit flex tight end as well. I wouldn’t really kind of pin him down to any one position at this point. We’re going to use the weekend to move him around to different spots and see how it works out.”
For now, it worked out for Benjamin, as he gets to see if he can make it through the spring and then the summer training camp rigors. He played for the Panthers, Bills and Chiefs since 2016 but did not have much production.
There are plenty of tight ends for Benjamin to compete with, including Evan Engram, Kyle Rudolph, Kaden Smith and Levine Toilolo.
Clement, 26, went undrafted out of Wisconsin and signed with the Eagles in 2017, which was his best NFL season. He has 655 rushing yards, 37 receptions and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Eagles and is best known for the role he played in the “Philly Special” touchdown gadget play in Super Bowl LII. Clement took the snap and handed the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who threw a TD pass to quarterback Nick Foles. Clement had a big game, with four receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles upset the Patriots 41-33. Judge was on the New England coaching staff for that game.
The Giants signed Devontae Booker to serve as the backup running back to Saquon Barkley, who is returning following reconstructive knee surgery. They also selected Gary Brightwell out of Arizona in the sixth round of the NFL Draft. Clement could provide depth and also has value on special teams.
The Giants made room on the roster for Benjamin and Clement by waiving running back Jordan Chunn and tight end Nate Wieting, both of whom participated in the rookie camp.
This story originally appeared on: NyPost - Author:Paul Schwartz
