Giants Add Depth at Defensive Back, D-line

New York attempts to solidify their defensive depth, particualrly on the back end.

Author:
Patricia Traina
Publish date:
May 18, 2022 1:23 PM EDT

In this story:

The New York Giants have signed four players, inluding two cornerbacks, a safety, and a defensive end.

The cornerbacks are Maurice Canady and Khalil Dorsey, two players with previous ties to current Giants defensive cooridantor Wink MArtindale. The saety Henry Black and the defensive end is Jalyn Holmes.

Canady, 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds. Canady, who played his college ball at Virginia, first joined the Ravens in 2016 as a sixth-round draft pick but landed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury about two months into his rookie campaign.

He would continue to struggle to stay healthy during his time with the Ravens, landing on injured reserve in 2017 after suffering a knee ailment in training camp and in 2018 with a thigh injury. In 2019, made it through camp unscathed but did not initially make the 53-man roster.

The Ravens signed him to their practice squad but promoted him in September. Canady was later released in November and was claimed by the Jets on November 6, 2019, appearing in eight games for them.

Canady signed with the Cowboys the following off-season, but he opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19. In 2021, his injury issues continued, this time his season-ending in October after he suffered a Week 6 concussion. Canady returned to action in December but was not retained by the Cowboys.

Canady, who earlier this month and a tryout with the Bears has appeared in 40 NFL games with four starts. He has 86 total tackles, including three tackles for loss, one interception, and three quarterback hits in his career.

Dorsey signed with the Ravens in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Northern Arizona but did not make the initial 53-man roster. After landing on Baltimore's practice squad, Dorsey was a standard practice squad elevation for Weeks 3 and 4 before being promoted to the active roster on October 9, 2020.

Dorsey would later land on injured reserve on November 10 with a shoulder issue. In 2021, Dorsey suffered an undisclosed season-ending injury during training camp.

Dorsey has appeared in just NFL six games, all of those coming in 2020. He has two career tackles.

Both Dorsey and Canady also offer special teams value.

Holmes, 6-5 and 283 pounds, spent the 2021 season with the New Orleans Saints after playing his first three seasons for the Vikings. A fourth-round draft choice in 2018, he has played in 33 regular-season games with 10 starts and played in two postseason games for the 2019 Vikings.

Holmes’ career totals include 61 tackles (30 solo), 1.0 sack and six tackles for loss. He reunites with defensive line coach Andre Patterson, his position coach in Minnesota.

Black, 6-0 and 204 pounds, signed with the Packers as a rookie free agent in 2020 and played in 25 regular-season games and three postseason games the last two seasons. He had 27 tackles (20 solo) and one interception, two passes defensed and two forced fumbles, plus one stop in the playoffs. In 2021, he played in all 18 games and tallied 25 tackles (18 solo), including one in the postseason.

To make room for the four new acquisitions, the Giants terminated the contract of linebacker Trent Harris, waived quarterback Brian Lewerke and defensive end Raymond Johnson III, and waived/injured defensive back Jordan Mosley.