With all the reunions and unretirements taking over the NFL this offseason, you’ll have to excuse me for getting a little excited when I saw the New York Giants were signing a defensive back with the last name Reed.
Unfortunately, Ed Reed isn’t making his way to North Jersey -- bummer -- to reunite with John Harbaugh. Instead, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported Thursday night that Big Blue is poaching 23-year-old corner Nikko Reed off the Los Angeles Chargers’ practice squad and adding him directly to the active roster.
Still, this isn’t some random depth move. Not even a day after the Giants added Jaden Robinson to their practice squad, they’re bringing in another corner, this time using an actual spot on the 53-man roster. And after three of their top four boundary corners landed on Thursday’s initial Week 2 injury report, the timing here is awfully hard to ignore.
Nikko Reed signing makes Giants' CB injury concerns impossible to ignore
Adebo didn’t practice at all on Thursday because of a knee injury, while Banks and Newsome were both limited with calf and rib injuries, respectively.
Maybe all three are good to go by Monday night. There’s still plenty of time before the G-Men take the field against the Los Angeles Rams. But the timing here makes it nearly impossible not to read more into it.
The difference between signing Robinson and Reed couldn’t be greater. New York plucked Reed off the Bolts’ practice squad, which means he’s now on the 53-man roster, where he’ll have to remain for at least the next three weeks. That’s a little more than kicking the tires on a flyer.
The 23-year-old originally signed with the Chargers out of Oregon after going undrafted in 2025. He appeared in five games as a rookie, recording two tackles and a pass defended before a hamstring injury ended his season. LA waived him during roster cuts before bringing him back to the P-Squad.
New York might finally be running out of former Ravens to reunite Harbs with, so John apparently settled for the next-best thing: stealing one of his brother Jim’s guys. I'm not claiming insider trading, but maybe Jimmy helped put in a good word.
The signings should surprise no one. Harbaugh's basically turned into Tinker Bell, tinkering with the roster until he feels like it can win against anyone. As Big Blue went into the week with Colton Hood as its only fully healthy outside corner, something had to give.
Since then, the Giants have gone to work, adding Robinson and Reed, with the latter getting an immediate spot on the 53-man roster. Maybe it’s nothing more than some extra insurance. Then again, sometimes the line between insurance and desperation gets a little blurry.
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