New York Giants add tight end Morgan Newton, drop two players

Morgan Newton is the newest member of the New York Giants, an undrafted rookie free agent the team was apparently impressed enough with during rookie mini-camp to sign to a contract on Thursday. The Giants waived/injured two players, tight end Michael Palmer and cornerback Antonio Dennard.

Newton is an interesting story. He is a 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end from the University of Kentucky who spent most of his career at quarterback before losing his job and converting to tight end early in his senior season. Newton never caught a pass as a collegiate player. As a quarterback, Newton completed 193 of 384 passes (50.3 percent) for 1,837 yards 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also rushed for 515 yards and three touchdowns on 169 carries.

How much of a mystery is Newton? I reached out to SB Nation draft expert Dan Kadar for some input, and Kadar could not offer much.

"The only stuff I know about him is as a QB," Kadar said. "There was a small amount of excitement about him as a passer early in his career. He had a few good throws as a freshman and looked the part, so you figured he would develop. Unfortunately, he never got better than he was as a freshman. Your guess about him as a tight end is as good as mine, though he does have some history running the ball at Kentucky."

Athletically, the Giants must be intrigued. His progress will be interesting to watch.