Well, they got Gibril Wilson’s replacement and for a fraction of the cost.

From Newsday:

Adding him takes some of the sting out of losing safety Gibril Wilson, who signed a $39-million deal over six years with the Raiders. Knight will compete with James Butler and Michael Johnson for one of the Giants’ safety spots.

“We were attracted to how smart he plays and how productive and physical he plays,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “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.”

Said coach Tom Coughlin: “Sammy Knight is a durable, physical player with 42 career interceptions. He comes to the line of scrimmage extremely well. He’s a smart player who gets everybody lined up. He played in Kansas City for [secondary coach] Peter Giunta, so we know all about the quality of the man. We feel like with his love of the game and his attitude about the idea of team that he’ll be a real nice fit for us.”

The Giants lost free agents Kawika Mitchell, Reggie Torbor and Gibril Wilson today to the Bills, Dolphins and Raiders, respectively, essentially leaving Jerry Reese with holes to fill.  

From Newsday:

Wilson’s deal was the biggest of the three. He agreed to a six-year, $39-million deal with the Raiders, a blockbuster contract for a safety. The Giants had heard Thursday night that Wilson was going to get a deal in the neighborhood of $6-6.5 million per year with the Raiders.

Mitchell agreed to a five-year, $17.5-million contract with the Bills, who were burned by Mitchell’s interception return for a touchdown in the Giants’ win over Buffalo in Week 16 last season. Terms of Torbor’s deal were unavailable. He filled in at strong-side linebacker when Mathias Kiwanuka went down with a fractured fibula in a Week 11 game against the Lions.

The Giants lost several players to free agency and/or release last year, but wound up winning Super Bowl XLII with a stirring series of playoff performances. General manager Jerry Reese signed only one free agent — Mitchell — last offseason, but plugged holes with the acquisition of fullback Madison Hedgecock and the drafting of players such as cornerback Aaron Ross, running back Ahmad Bradshaw and tight end Kevin Boss.

Not taking credit for the turnaround, Mets manager Willie Randolph admitted he gave Eli Manning a peptalk at a last year according to Dave Lennon of Newsday.

“I met Eli [Manning] right when they were on that run,” Randolph said today. “Not that I want to take credit for it, but I guess it sounds like that, I gave him a nice little pep talk. I saw him at a jewelry store. He got hot after that and never stopped, so that was kind of a cool. He’s a nice kid.”

As for today’s visit by Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, Randolph was thrilled to have some of that Lombardi Trophy magic in camp.

More on Lennon’s blog at Newsday.

Bob Glauber in Newsday reports the Giants are not only looking at DeAngelo Hall, but also Seattle CB Marcus Trufant.

There is speculation they’re interested in dealing for Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who said Friday he will not return to the team after new general manager Thomas Dimitroff told him the club would consider offers for him. Add in another potential target of the Giants: Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant.

According to a league source familiar with the Giants’ situation, Trufant is on their radar as a potential acquisition once the trading period begins next Friday. Seattle has designated Trufant as their “franchise” player, meaning Seattle has virtually exclusive negotiating rights with him for the 2008 season. But that does not preclude them from making a trade. He is coming off his best season, with a career-high seven interceptions.

Hall has one year left on his contract with Atlanta, and had initially expressed optimism about staying. But Friday, after hearing that Dimitroff would listen to offers for him, Hall told reporters in Indianapolis that he isn’t coming back.

“You know what, I’ll go anywhere – anywhere they want me,” he said. “It’s hard to play or be a part of an organization that doesn’t want you, so I just want to go somewhere that wants me. It ain’t about the money. I even told the Falcons, ‘I’ll play out the last year of my contract if you don’t franchise tag me the following year.’ And they couldn’t agree to that.”

It looks like the Giants will revamp the  secondary.

Bob Glauber in Newsday reports Tom Coughlin will sign a four year extension worth about $5 million a year.

Two league sources familiar with the Giants’ situation told Newsday Monday that there are few hurdles left in negotiations, and that a deal could be completed sometime this week. One source said the contract will be a four-year extension through the 2011 season. No financial terms were disclosed, but the deal likely will average about $5 million — or perhaps slightly higher — per season.

Last-minute hang-ups could delay the extension, but if the two sides agree to the terms, an announcement could come within days, sources said.

The Giants would not comment Monday on the status of negotiations with Coughlin’s agent, Gary O’Hagan, who could not be reached for comment.

Coughlin’s original four-year deal with the Giants was to have expired after the 2007 season, but a year ago, he agreed to a one-year extension after the Giants went 8-8 and qualified for the playoffs. The Giants wanted Coughlin to agree to the one-year extension so he would not be coaching the final year of his contract in 2007 and be perceived as a lame duck.

Coughlin, 61, underwent a major soul-searching period last offseason, even consulting beat reporters and columnists about how to better interact with the media. He enacted several new measures with the team, including the appointment of a leadership council and the election of team captains. He was much more tolerant of the media during news conferences, and his more approachable and positive demeanor was welcomed by players, particularly veterans.
 

Art Staple on Newsday had this on his blog:

We’ll have a web story and one in the paper on the Shockey subject, and here’s the key part for now: Jerry Reese emailed me this response to a question about whether the Giants are shopping Shockey:

“He is our starting tight end.”

I’d say that stands pretty well. Shockey is still a valuable player, especially as a blocker — I think Kevin Gilbride could be pretty excited about the two-TE sets with Shockey and Kevin Boss for next season, especially since Boss has proven to be a very good pass-catcher and an improving blocker. Could be some very good decoy plays run out of those sets.

So don’t expect any type of trade. Besides the Giants need him IMO. Kevin Boss and Shockey can co-exist.