New York Giants' news, 3/12: Non-Victor Cruz edition

Good morning, New York Giants' fans! Welcome to Free Agency Day 2013. It's not a holiday, of course, but we know you will be checking news and rumors all day. Teams can begin signing players at 4 p.m. ET.

Before we get to all of that, let's look around at some non-Victor Cruz Giants notes.

Scouts Take: DT Cullen Jenkins signing

ESPN.com NFL scout Matt Williamson broke down the Giants' decision to sign Jenkins, saying he has the versatility to fit into their system.

"Much like Chris Canty before him, I thought he did his best work as a 3-4 defensive end that has some versatility," said Williamson, who was an NFL and college scout for the Cleveland Browns before joining ESPN. "You can align him at several different techniques on the defensive line, but the beauty of him and what he does best, I kind of look at him also like a John Abraham player or a [Dwight] Freeney where let’s make him a little bit of a specialist and keep him fresh for the whole year, hopefully through the playoffs by not playing a high number of snaps but really specializing him as an interior pass rusher. And frankly, if I had to come up with the top 10 or 12 interior pass rushers in the league right now, Jenkins is still on that list, and those guys are hard to find."

The Giants’ problems in 2012 weren’t exclusive to the pass rush, however. Another major concern was stopping the run, which Williamson believes Jenkins can help solve if put in the right position.

"As a defensive tackle or a pure three-technique type guy, I think he’s a liability there, but if you’re playing a team that’s a power running team, for example, and they’re gashing you, I think he’s versatile enough that he could be strong-side defensive end," Williamson continued. "And as defensive ends go for a 4-3, I think he’s a very good run defender."

Mara: Restructuring Manning deal 'not on our radar'

Eli Manning counts for $20.85M against the cap. So why won't the Giants restructure or extend him? Said Mara ...

"We haven’t really talked about that. That’s always an option at some point in time, but he’s proven to be worth the amount of salary-cap space that’s been allocated to him.

"That’s something you could always do at some point to create more room. But again, the more room you create in current years, you have to pay that back at some point in time, and you don’t want to put yourself in a position where you are in salary-cap jail and you’re forced to cut an inordinate number of players. That’s something that may be discussed at some point in the future, but that’s not on our radar right now."

Giants Insider: DT Cullen Jenkins

N.F.L. to Consider Rule on Runners Lowering Helmets - NYTimes.com