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The New York Giants continued to add free agents over the weekend. Both linebacker Kelvin Sheppard and running back Bobby Rainey took to social media to announce their joining the Giants. Both moves are minor but could provide exactly what the Giants have needed in recent years — depth.
Sheppard spent the last two years with the Miami Dolphins. He was originally a third-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in 2011 where he played for two years before joining the Indianapolis Colts for one season. He has appeared in all but three games in his career. Last season he recorded a career-high 105 tackles, 75 of them solo. His stats are actually a little better than his play. He struggled against the run and against the pass, which has been his strong suit in the past.
He will compete with Mark Herzlich, Uani Unga, Jasper Brinkley and recent free agent addition Keenan Robinson for playing time in the middle. If Sheppard is at the top of his game he will help in pass coverage, which is his strong suit and an area of need for the Giants.
Rainey is coming off a down season himself. He saw only five carries last year and gained only 18 yards. In the two years prior, Rainey was used quite a bit in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ backfield. In 2013 he carried 137 times for 532 yards and five touchdowns in nine games. In 2014, Rainey had 94 carries for 406 yards and one touchdown in 15 games. Both of those seasons saw Doug Martin miss a bit of playing time with injuries, but with Martin healthy last year Rainey barely saw the field.
The Giants already have Rashad Jennings, Andre Williams, Orleans Darkwa and Shane Vereen in the backfield. All four got chances last season but none really stood out. Jennings and Vereen are the best of the bunch, but the Giants are still high on Darkwa and Williams, though one of them could be forced out if they are convinced Rainey is an upgrade. Rainey does have one advantage over Darkwa and Williams in that he is much more capable catching the football out of the backfield.
Both Rainey and Sheppard will be given chances to see playing time but both join positions where there is a lot of competition. At their best, both players could be upgrades, but they will have to earn any playing time they get which will be an uphill battle.
Over the last three years the Giants have led the NFL in injuries. They have been forced to turn to aging veterans and inexperienced younger players, and most of the time it hasn’t worked out. Adding veteran depth is a wise move by GM Jerry Reese. These moves won’t win the Giants a Super Bowl, but they do add two veterans who don’t have any recent major injury history.
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