Giants sign free agent safety Brandon Meriweather

Sunday the New York Giants filled the void at safety created by the season ending injury to rookie Mykkele Thompson. They did so by signing veteran free agent safety Brandon Meriweather.

Meriweather last played for the Washington Redskins in 2014 and garnered a -2.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. While that certainly isn't a compelling grade, it is an improvement over his 2013 campaign. Meriweather's strength has been run support, while his pass coverage is pedestrian at best. Therefore it is likely that he will compete for a role as a strong safety and bring a veteran presence to a very young safety corps

The 31-year-old safety was originally drafted out of the University of Miami by the New England Patriots in 2007 with the 24th overall pick. As an alum of both the Miami Hurricanes and the 2007 draft class, Meriweather is a former teammate of Giants' middle linebacker Jon Beason, as well as former Giants Kenny Philips and Antrel Rolle.

The details of Meriweather's contract have yet to be released, though it is likely that he signed a one-year contract for the veteran minimum. In order to sign Meriweather the Giants released kicker Chris Boswell and Mykkele Thompson was placed on the injured reserve, though he still counts toward the 90-man roster.