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The New York Giants are signing their second former Green Bay Packers linebacker of the day, with both Adam Schefter and Mike Garafolo reporting that the team has agreed to terms with Kyler Fackrell.
The deal is reportedly for one year and $4.6 million. The Giants earlier agreed to terms with Blake Martinez.
Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham is familiar with both players from a 2018 stint coaching linebackers in Green Bay.
Fackrell, 28, was a third-round pick by the Packers in 2016. He has started only nine games in that time. He had a career year when Graham was his position coach, though, starting seven games and registering a career-best 10.5 sacks in 623 snaps. Fackrell has had no more than 3.0 sacks in any other season.
Fackrell would've been third on Giants w/35 disruptions last year. And that was on 193 pass rush snaps. It was one less than Lorenzo Carter, who had 36 disruptions on 346 pass rush snaps. #Giants
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) March 17, 2020
Fackrell had just one sack in 2019. His Pro Football Focus pass rush pressure rate of 6.5 was, however, equal to top-tier pass rushers Yannick Ngakoue and Jadaveon Clowney.
Martinez is an inside linebacker, while Fackrell is an edge defender. A pass rushing edge defender is a need for the Giants, and they are taking a flier on Fackrell considering the success Graham saw him have in 2018. He joins Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines on the outside.
The Giants did something similar a year ago when they signed Markus Golden to a prove-it deal. He gave them a double-digit sack season before entering free agency again. We’ll see if they can have similar success with Fackrell.