It was designated as a rookie minicamp, but the Giants came out of the three-day orientation with two new veteran players, one definitely more veteran than any of the other 2෴2 players in attendance.
All it took was a couple of practices for head coach Joe Judge ꦓto make the determination he wanted to add wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and running back Corey Clement to the roster. The Giants signed Clement on Saturday and Benjamin on Sunday.
Of the two, Benjamin is the more unlikely and has the more difficult challenge to resume his NFL career. A 30-year-old who has not played in the NFL since t𒆙he 2018 season, he was a 2014 first-round draft pick of the Panthers. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman made that selection when he was running the show in Carolina. Benjamin had a strong rookie season, with 73 receptions for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns, but missed the 2015 sea🥂son after tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament, and his production waned after that.
Benjamin, a💛 towering and not especially fast rec🙈eiver, was listed as a tight end as he attended the Giants’ camp on a tryout basis. At 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds, he resembled and moved more like a tight end in workouts Friday and Saturday.
“We’re going to work different guys at a variety of things right now,’’ Judge said of Benjamim. “He’s a big guy. He’s always been a big receiver. He’ll work receiver. He’s working a little bit flex tight end as well. I wouldn’t really kind of pin him down to any one position at this point. We’re going to use the weekend to move him around to different spots and ꦜsee how it works out.’’
For now, it has worked out for Benjamin, who will get to see if he can make it through the spring and then the summer training camp rigors. He play💞ed for the Panthers, ☂Bills and Chiefs since 2016, and this figures to be his last shot.
There are plenty of tight ends for Benjam🥃in to compete with, including Evan Engram, Kyle Rudolph, Kad♔en Smith and Levine Toilolo. Finding his way onto the roster will not be easy.
Clement, 26, went undrafted out of Wisconsin and signed with the Eagles in 2017, which was his best NFL season. He has 655 rushing yards, 37 receptions and nine touchdowns in four seasons with the Eagles and is best known fo༒r the role he played in the “Philly Special’’ gadget-play touchdown in Super Bowl LII. Clement took the snap and flipped the ball to tight end Trey Burton, who threw a TD pass to quarterback Nick Foles. Clement had a big game, with four receptions for 100 yards and a touchdown as the Eagles upset the Patriots, 41-33. Judge, as a member of the New England coaching staff, was on the wrong end of the gimmickry.
The Giants signed Devontae Booker to serve as the backup running back to Saquon Barkley, who is returning following reconstructive knee surgery. They also selecte🎉d Gary Brightwell out of Arizona in the sixth round of the NFL draft. Clement could p🐟rovide depth and also has value on special teams.
To make room on the r༒oster, the Giants waived running back Jordan Chunn and tight end Nate Wieting. Both participated in the rookie camp.
These signings s༒how, once again, that every player who gets a practice jersey has a shot. There were five players invited to the ro❀okie camp as tryouts, and no one escaped Judge’s watchful eyes.
“I think all those players, they are different players,’’ Judge said. “So the qualities are going to vary a little bit. Really what you’re looking for is movement skills on the field. With the guys this weekend, you’re looking for a mix of things in terms of how they look on the field, what shape they are in currently, your interactions with them as a player. … [A] big part of them is getting thꦫem in your meetings and having them on the field and it’s your first chance of really getting these guys in person on the field with your coaching staff and really seeing how they react to your style of coaching.
“The unfortunate thing is there’s only a limited am♚ount of spots on the roster. It was a good experience to have ☂them all here and we’ll see where it goes from here.’’
It g🅰oes to the next phase with the Giants for Benjamin and Clement.