EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Giants filled a void in their secondary on Monday when they signed veteran safety Sammy Knight.
Knight effectively takes the place on the Giants roster of Gibril Wilson, the starting free safety who joined the Oakland Raiders with a $39 million contract on the first day of the free agency signing period last week.
"We're excited to have a veteran of Sammy's caliber joining our secondary," general manager Jerry Reese said in a statement. "We were attracted to how smart he plays and how productive and physical he plays. We think he will thrive in our defensive schemes. He brings a lot of leadership to the team, especially to the secondary, and he is a real pro."
Knight has played mostly strong safety, which means he or returning starter James Butler could move to free safety.
"I think this is a great situation for me," Knight said. "This is a great staff, first and foremost, and a great organization. They won the Super Bowl, and they have a lot of people coming back, so the opportunity to win again was definitely one of the determining factors in me coming here."
The Giants did not comment on the contract, but it is worth $5.1 million over three years, reports NFL Network's Adam Schefter.
A 12-year veteran who will turn 33 in September, Knight has played for New Orleans, Miami, Kansas City and Jacksonville. He has started 168 of his 174 career regular season games and all five postseason games in which he's appeared. Knight has played in 156 consecutive regular season games, the NFL's 14th-longest current streak.
Knight led the Jacksonville Jaguars with 93 tackles last season. He also had four interceptions and a forced fumble.
Knight has 1,199 career tackles (831 solo), 9.0 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 12 fumble recoveries, in addition to his 42 interceptions. He has recorded more than 100 tackles in eight of the last nine years and at least one interception in each of his 11 seasons, including a career-high total of six in both 1998 and 2001. Knight was a Pro Bowler in 2001 with the Saints.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
