Giants to add another veteran WR

As if the Giants did not have enough slot receivers already, they are further bolstering this particular area. The team agreed to a deal with Jamison Crowder on Thursday, Josina Anderson of CBS Sports tweets.

This will mark a return to the NFC East for Crowder, a Washington draftee who has since spent time with the Jets and Bills. Crowder will join a crowded stable of Giants slot receivers. While the Giants will still connected to receiver options in the draft, they are using free agency to ensure they will not be shorthanded at the position again.

The Giants brought back Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton and have now signed Crowder and Parris Campbell. They also have Wan’Dale Robinson returning from an ACL tear. Of this contingent, all but Slayton can be classified as a slot receiver. Crowder, Campbell and Shepard have also been prone to injuries. Quantity here will protect the Giants, who also return waiver pickup Isaiah Hodgins, but they added a few players with similar skill sets and similar injury histories.

The Bills gave Crowder a one-year, $2M deal in 2022 but were not able to deploy the former fourth-round pick often. Crowder, 29, played in just four games with Buffalo. A fractured ankle sidetracked Crowder’s Bills season. He caught just six passes for 60 yards. Although Buffalo designated the veteran slot player for return, no activation commenced. Crowder finished his season on IR.

Formerly the inside complement in Sean McVay-led Washington attacks featuring Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson, Crowder outlasted each in D.C. He has compiled four seasons with at least 690 receiving yards, and although the Jets struggled during each of his three seasons in the Big Apple, Crowder became Sam Darnold‘s top target during the 2019 and ’20 campaigns. He led the Jets in receiving (with 833 and 699 yards, respectively) in those seasons and combined for 12 touchdown catches during that span. The Jets added Corey Davis and Elijah Moore in 2021 and cut Crowder’s pay that year; Crowder totaled 447 yards during his Jets finale.

The Giants will see what Crowder has left. The team accumulating options at receiver makes sense after last season. Shepard and Robinson were lost with season-ending injuries, with Shepard’s latest malady leaving his NFL future foggier compared to the other wideouts the Giants inked this offseason. New York traded Kadarius Toney and got next to nothing from free-agency megabust Kenny Golladay. Slayton and Hodgins led Big Blue’s receiving corps during the team’s playoff push. They will have some help this year, and even though injuries have been factors for most of the Giants’ signings, the volume here could protect the team in the event more maladies surface at the position.