New York Giants Sign D-lineman Danny Shelton to 1-Year Deal

Defensive lineman Danny Shelton projects to add depth at the position previously held by Dalvin Tomlinson.

If you thought the New York Giants were done with free agency, you thought wrong.

The Giants are signing free-agent defensive tackle Danny Shelton, who has made previous stops with the Browns, Patriots, and Lions, to a one-year deal, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, citing Shelton's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, as the source.

Shelton, 6'2", 345 pounds, was originally a first-round draft pick by Cleveland out of Washington in 2015, who some believed struggles to live up to his draft pedigree.

In 2018, he was traded along with a fifth-round draft pick to the New England Patriots. Shelton went on to have his best season as a member of the Patriots, that coming in 2019 when he logged career highs in total tackles (61), sacks (3.0), and quarterback hits (6). 

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Shelton's position coach at the time was Bret Bielema, whom Giants head coach Joe Judge initially hired to his Giants staff before Bielema accepted the head coaching job at Illinois.

The Patriots declined the option year on Shelton's rookie deal and he moved on to  the Detroit Lions, whose head coach at the time was former Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia.

Detroit signed Shelton to a two-year, $8 million contract. Still, he was only active for 12 games. He spent part of that season on injured reserve with a knee injury suffered in the Thanksgiving game against the Texans before being activated on January 2, 2021.

On March 16, 2021, Detroit released Shelton with a failed physical designation.

Shelton has started 72 out of 87 career games and has 247 total tackles, 16 tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks, and 18 quarterback hits.

By signing him to a one-year deal, the Giants add some additional depth to the defensive line's interior where they had lost starter Dalvin Tomlinson in free agency to the Vikings earlier this month. 

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