Finally, the New York Giants have shaken up their defensive front. Taking this long to bolster a glaring roster hole was certainly done with a worthwhile master plan in mind, right?
Wrong. The Giants signed veteran defensive tackle Sam Roberts, per the team's official website. Many might be asking who exactly he is, and that should tell you something.
Patience is a virtue, they say. However, whoever coined that phrase didn't watch the Giants get gashed on the ground weekly and then make minimal effort to beef up the trenches. Roberts' track record (or lack thereof) suggests he's far from the solution in New York.
Giants continue to downplay obvious need for DL help with disappointing Sam Roberts free agency signing
Giants fans wondered whether the club's inactivity was a precursor to a bigger free agency addition, like future Hall of Famer Calais Campbell. Franchise nose tackle Dexter Lawrence's running mate in college, Christian Wilkins, has also been atop Big Blue Nation's wishlist. Instead, New York brings in Roberts; talk about an underwhelming turn of events.
Roberts has appeared in 20 games in four NFL campaigns and logged just 266 total defensive snaps and 56 special teams reps. He's bounced around squads, including stints with the New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers and most recently the Atlanta Falcons and hasn't made much of an impact. His journeyman résumé leaves much to be desired, especially for a Giants group that was arguably the league's most pronounced run funnel this past season.
For what it's worth, Roberts has graded well ($) in the eyes of Pro Football Focus throughout his career. The problem is the sample size is so small that the positive metrics must be taken with a sizable grain of salt. Can he remain effective in an expanded role, or will this prove to be nothing more than a depth move for the Giants?
Either way, this is not what the New York faithful envisioned. The apparent failure to recognize a concerning weakness continues to baffle folks who follow or cover the Giants, and Roberts' arrival won't silence the noise. Fair or not, this stigma may hang over his time in East Rutherford, at least until another defensive lineman enters the mix.
In 2025, Roberts recorded 18 tackles and his first as a pro across five appearances with the Falcons. He turns 28 in April, so perhaps the Giants see untapped potential.