Dwyane Hendricks has worked a long time for this opportunity. The New York Giants today filled the vacancy on their 53-man roster by signing Dwayne Hendricks, a defensive tackle, off their practice squad. The vacancy was created by the four-game suspension given this week to defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy, who violated the league's performance-enhancing drug policy.

Hendricks, 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, was originally by signed by the Giants as a rookie free agent on May 8, 2009. He spent the final 10 weeks of the 2009 season, the last seven weeks of the 2010 season and the first five weeks of this season on the team's practice squad. He has never played in a regular-season game.

Hendricks played in all four preseason games this year, including a start in the finale at New England, where he had five tackles (four solo), a sack and a forced fumble.

The Giants waited several days after the suspension of Kennedy to officially fill the roster vacancy. Most likely that was because they were waiting to see if the concussion suffered last week by Zak DeOssie would force them to sign a new long snapper. DeOssie, though, is expected to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.