Giants sign veteran lineman

by Ed Valentine on May 21, 2009 5:09 PM EDT in New York Giants News

From the Giants

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants continued to bolster their offensive line depth today with the signing of Tutan Reyes, a 10-year veteran who has played both guard and center.

Reyes, 6-3 and 305 pounds, has played in 53 regular season games with 37 starts and started three postseason games in a career that has included stops in New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Buffalo and Jacksonville. In 2008, Reyes played in 15 games for the Jaguars, including eight on offense. He made three starts at right guard – Oct. 12 at Denver, Oct. 26 vs. Cleveland and Nov. 2 at Cincinnati.

Reyes entered the NFL as a fifth-round draft choice out of Mississippi by the New Orleans Saints in 2000, the 131^st overall selection. He was inactive for all 16 games as a rookie. Reyes made his NFL debut on special teams on Dec. 2, 2001 vs. Carolina, his only appearance that season.

The Saints waived Reyes on Sept. 10, 2002 and signed him to their practice squad two days later. On Oct. 1 of that year, he was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, waived on Nov. 23 and claimed by the Panthers. Reyes was inactive for the final five games of the season. In 2003, he was inactive for all 16 regular season games and four postseason contests, including Super Bowl XXXVIII.

The following season, Reyes played in 14 games with 12 starts, eight at right guard and four at left guard. He missed two games with an injured left ankle.

In 2005, Reyes started all 16 regular season games and three postseason games at left guard for a Panthers team that advanced to the NFC Championship Game. He was signed as a free agent by the Buffalo Bills on April 26, 2006 and started the first six games at left guard before he was inactive for the final 10 games.

Reyes signed with the Jaguars on Aug. 20, 2007. He was released on Sept. 11 and re-signed on Nov. 6.

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Nice

There’s your O-Line depth…..

by FreeBradshaw on May 21, 2009 6:17 PM EDT reply actions

my problem..

he’s never played center.. we need a guy who has experience at center badly

President of the Ramses Barden Fan Club

Fact on Villanova Sports

by Hoyadestroya85 on May 21, 2009 7:26 PM EDT reply actions

don't we still have Gray Rughamer (sp?)

by cjmulrain on May 22, 2009 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions

He doesn't show on the roster at Giants.com

The only player listed at center other than O’Hara is Alex Derenthal an undersized UDFA from Temple.

by Tucker Fredrickson on May 22, 2009 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions

He

has not been re-signed. Though, I guess it is still possible.

by Ed Valentine on May 22, 2009 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions

Glad to hear we've addressed the lack of depth on the OL!!!

Now comes the question of “who’s” head gets cut to make room for that depth?

Too much talent is a nice problem to have, but IT is a problem!!

by NY17NE14 on May 21, 2009 9:48 PM EDT reply actions

A pattern emerges

Reyes’ first name is Tutankhamen (as in King Tut). With Ramses Barden already on the squad it’s clear that the Giants are trying to corner the market on players named after Egyptian Pharoahs.

by Tucker Fredrickson on May 21, 2009 10:03 PM EDT reply actions

... and one for the ages.

Tut. Ramses. I see a dynasty on the horizon…

by Jints4Life on May 22, 2009 2:14 AM EDT up reply actions

OK, nice, we add some depth to the O line

But the priority should be to add YOUNG depth to the position, not sign veterans. Right now for each rookie we sign, we have to cut somebody off the roster, so on one hand I’m thinking each addition we make should be somebody that will contribute for a while… But on the other hand, I can see that we’re building this team for the long run by adding young guys, but also making sure that we can win NOW by adding experience and talent on both lines so we can rotate guys, and be taken care of in case of injury, etc. The wisdom of JR is infinite lol.

by mahmoodzaky on May 22, 2009 5:27 AM EDT reply actions

Wait til next year

Before the draft I was hoping the Giants would get some good young offensive line talent and thought they might go for Max Unger or Alex Mack. They did grab a decent tackle prospect in William Beatty. But now they won’t really have any opportunity to get young talent to groom until next year’s draft. This signing is useful because other than O’Hara they didn’t have any experienced NFL lineman who have any experience playing center. They do have a couple of UDFAs who play center, and if one of them pans out that’s great. Signing Reyes gives them a security blanket. I mean does anybody really want to see Kevin Boothe snapping the ball if O’Hara goes down? Reyes is not ideal because he’s mostly played guard but he’s a good stopgap and this was the kind of move that needed to be made.

by Tucker Fredrickson on May 22, 2009 9:03 AM EDT up reply actions