NFL-Giants: NY Giants football news

More news on Pierce and other free agents

Ralph Vacchiano from the Daily News has picked up on the Antonio Pierce story and added some nice details:

The Giants are also pursuing Jets right tackle Kareem McKenzie and Steelers receiver Plaxico Burress. McKenzie could be their next free-agent target; with Burress, they're taking a wait-and-see approach until his market is set.

In the meantime, Pierce is expected at Giants Stadium early today, possibly to sign his contract. It's a surprising development considering the amount of time Bell, limited to three games last year because of a hernia, spent at Giants Stadium yesterday. The 26-year-old, who played for Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis in Pittsburgh, arrived early on the first day of free agency and had a physical. Soon word spread around the NFL that the Giants and Bell had come to a deal.

But that deal, which was rumored to include a $13 million signing bonus, turned out to be false alarm. It's not clear why the Giants backed off - whether it was his contract demands or something from his physical. But Bell left Giants Stadium with no contract and headed home.

In my opinion, signing Pierce is far less risky than signing Bell, but Neil Best reminds Giants fans that signing Pierce is a bit risky:

The risk is that the 6-1, 240-pound Pierce, 26, has only one full season as a starter. But he is regarded as a smart, tough player who would bolster a spot manned last year by career backup Kevin Lewis.

Paul Schwartz says that Bell was always the second choice, with Pierce being the first. He also notes that Wahle was never in the Giants plans and that Buress will probably end up in Minnesota.

Then you've got Mike Garafolo (who doesn't have much solid info on Pierce but is covering the story) disagreeing with Schwartz on the Wahle issue, saying that

The Giants have aggressively pursued offensive lineman Mike Wahle, cut by the Packers on Tuesday. The 6-6, 304-pound Wahle, who can play guard and tackle, has also drawn interest from the Panthers, Chargers and Lions.

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Posted by James Trotta at March 3, 2005 9:30 PM