Good morning, New York Giants fans! There are a few news items to catch up on this morning, so let's get right down to business.
Jasper Brinkley return official
Word came out last week that veteran middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley would be returning to the Giants, and the team made that official on Tuesday.
"This is where I wanted to be," Brinkley said. "I had a good season last year. Just given the opportunities I had, and given the guys that are here and the mentality the coaches have, there's definitely a winning mentality here, and I want to be a part of that."
Brinkley finished third on the team with 66 tackles in 2015 despite starting only nine games. He also had a sack and four forced fumbles. He compiled those numbers in just 420 snaps, or 36 percent of the defensive plays. Brinkley, who turns 31 in July, did not sign with the Giants until the week before the 2015 regular-season opener. He played only five defensive snaps in the first seven games before becoming a regular part of the defense.
"Once you're used to being in the starting lineup, being in the situation I was in was very different," Brinkley said. "I was tested last year, and being patient paid off for me in the end. When you're number's called, you have to be able to go out there and perform, and I feel I did that."
Brinkley and Keenan Robinson, a former member of the Washington Redskins signed as an unrestricted free agent, will compete for the middle linebacker job.
Victor Cruz on why he took pay cut
Wide receiver Victor Cruz accepted a pay cut to remain with the Giants. He said Tuesday that doing so was a decision that was "bigger than football."
"I knew that New York is for me. New Jersey is for me. It's the place where I grew up," he said. "It's home. I understood that, and I understood that it's bigger than just football. It's bigger than just me, it's bigger than just the Giants. It's about the fans, it's about the people."
Cruz has not played since tearing his patellar tendon in Week 6 of the 2014 season. He missed all of last season with a torn calf.
"I'm just grateful to have this opportunity again, and I'm working very, very hard to make sure I'm out there on the field for the long haul, and not just for the time being," Cruz said.
More: Geoff Schwartz signs with Detroit Lions
Will Beatty ready to look for new team
Former Giants offensive lineman Will Beatty told Newsday on Tuesday that he expects to be cleared Monday following surgery on his right shoulder, and that he will then begin the process of finding a new team after being cut by the Giants.
"I want to make sure I can perform and show who I really am," Beatty told Newsday on Tuesday from his home in Arizona. "I don't want to show them an injured Will. I don't want to visit a team and say ‘It'll get better.' I want to be good and ready to go. I want to say ‘I'm ready and I can be your guy.' "
Beatty, 31, told Newsday's Tom Rock that he "wasn't expecting" to be cut by the Giants.Rock added that "a reunion is unlikely given the abruptness of the divorce."