NY Giants sign fullback Elijhaa Penny to contract extension

The NY Giants re-signed fullback Elijhaa Penny to a contract extension ahead of free agency.

Well, you can scratch fullback of the NY Giants’ list of positional needs. Big Blue came to terms on a two-year contract extension with Elijhaa Penny on Wednesday night just before he was set to become a restricted free agent.

A former undrafted runningback out of Idaho, Penny has created a niche for himself as a fullback in the NFL. The move is a curious one, however, as Penny is not a traditional fullback and is more of a fourth halfback than anything else. It would have been nice to see the Giants bring in a more typical fullback and get back to more smashmouth football, but Penny appears to be the plan for now.

That could change come draft time as Big Blue possesses three 7th-round draft picks which seem to lend themselves perfectly towards taking a fullback. During his career, Penny has not shown himself to be a productive receiver or a very capable blocker. Penny has just 14 career receptions in four NFL seasons.

Last season, Penny played just 12% of offensive snaps, although he carved out a role on special teams and was a key contributor there. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed, although it’s fair to assume that there isn’t much guaranteed money involved. Under that assumption, the NY Giants could likely easily move on from Penny should they find a more intriguing option later in the offseason.

Jason Garrett has been known to use two-back sets quite frequently, so if he is around, Penny should find his way onto the field more often in 2020. Still, it’d be nice to see a competition for the role and at least one more player brought in to compete for the spot during training camp. Penny’s play has left much to be desired and he hasn’t earned the right to walk into 2020 as the starter.

The fullback position has made a steady comeback in the NFL over the past few seasons, and the NY Giants would be wise to take it more seriously. Bringing back Elijhaa Penny doesn’t exactly qualify as taking it more seriously at this juncture.