This Legacy Giants Move Lands on All-Time Best Free Agency Moves

FOX Sports recently compiled an All-NFL list of the top free-agent acquisitions since the advent of free agency. And one legacy Giant made the list.

Giants punter Jeff Feagles punting against the Jets, at the Meadowlands Aug. 26, 2005.. | Frank Becerra Jr / USA TODAY NETWORK

The New York Giants signing of then-free-agent punter Jeff Feagles in 2003 may not have been the flashiest move in NFL free-agency history, but it turned out to be incredibly valuable and landed Feagles on FOX Sports' Ralph Vacchianos NFL's All-Time Free Agency List.

Special teams work is not often noticed, but the Giants soon found they could count on Feagles, who made his mark on the Giants in his seven seasons.  

Feagles who played for the Patriots, Eagles, Cardinals, and Seahawks before signing with the Giants near the end of his playing career, was a master with the coffin corner.

He was voted to two Pro Bowls and won a Super Bowl (XLII) championship. 

Even as one of the league’s oldest punters at the time, Feagles demonstrated he was one of the best—if not the best—punters in the NFL.

When he retired after the 2009 season, he was—and remains—the NFL record holder for career punts and career punting yards, having played 22 seasons in the NFL and for most games played consecutively with 352.

Feagles punted 1,713 times for 71,211 yards with a 41.6-yard average per punt. His longest punt was a 77-yard punt while playing for Philadelphia. He downed 554 punts inside the 20-yard line of the opposing team, which accounted for 32.3% of his punts.

Even after retiring by hanging up the cleats, Feagles remained a figure in football. In 2103, years after retirement, Feagles returned to football but in a more leadership role.

He discovered a means of still having an influence on the game off the field by becoming involved with Heads Up Football, an initiative by USA Football to build safety in youth football.

Although the Giants' signing of Feagles might not be as exciting as signing a superstar quarterback or receiver, its value was priceless to the Giants.

His influence on the team and his position at the heart of a championship club rendered the 2003 free agent signing one of the wisest moves by the franchise.

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