Leon Hall Visits With Giants For Second Time
Free agent cornerback Leon Hall visited with the New York Giants for a second time on Wednesday.
The Giants first expressed interest in signing Hall immediately after the NFL Draft and brought him in for a visit even though they have Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie and Janoris Jenkins on the roster and drafted Ohio State’s Eli Apple with the 10th overall pick.
“When you have two corners in this league,” said Giants general manager Jerry Reese. “You’re short one because the offensive teams throw the ball so much and you’ve got to have three quality corners to really go out and function at a high level.
AROUND COVER32
First & Ten: Ten NFL headlines for Wednesday
Power Rankings: Training Camp Edition
Madden Monday: A look at the new features for this year’s game
Fantasy Football: Where to draft suspended players
Hall has certainly demonstrated the ability to function at a high level.
Selected with the 18th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, Hall played his entire career for the Cincinnati Bengals. In his NFL career, he has started 105 of 121 games for the Bengals.
He has 447 tackles (344 solo), 26 interceptions, and three defensive touchdowns.
Hall has excelled in the NFL as a slot corner. If the Giants were able to sign him, he would be used as the third quality corner coveted by Reese, allowing Apple to develop into the starter the Giants want him to be with no additional pressure.
In addition, Rodgers-Cromartie and Jenkins normally don’t line up in the slot and Apple was an outside corner in college. Hall is also an excellent tackler who may be able to make the transition to safety.
Hall, however, does come with injury baggage. On Nov. 13, 2011, he tore his right Achilles tendon in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, ending his season. In a game against the Detroit Lions on Oct. 20, 2013, he tore his left Achilles tendon, again ending his season.
He also reportedly had back surgery during the offseason as he needed epidurals to continue to play towards the end of last season.
After both Achilles tears, Hall was able to return the following season and be productive.
Hall’s representatives are insisting that this second visit with the Giants is simply a fact-finding mission and not an indication that he’ll be playing in MetLife Stadium in 2016. The Bengals, after an injury to 2016 first-round draft pick William Jackson, are interested in reacquiring Hall’s services. There are also reports that Hall visited with the Dallas Cowboys.
The Giants have committed a king’s ransom to upgrading the NFL’s worst defense in 2015. Getting Hall into the fold can only add the quality that Jerry Reese wants.
The post Leon Hall Visits With Giants For Second Time appeared first on Cover32.
