EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Giants today bolstered both their special teams and secondary when they acquired cornerback Keion Crossen in a trade with the Houston Texans.
Crossen played his rookie season in New England in 2018 when Joe Judge was the Patriots' special teams coordinator.
Houston will receive a 2023 sixth-round draft choice from the Giants in exchange for Crossen.
Crossen, 5-10 and 185 pounds, is entering his fourth NFL season. He has played in 43 regular-season games with four starts and played in five postseason games for the Patriots and Texans, including Super Bowl LIII.
Crossen's career totals include 49 tackles (38 solo), one interception, six passes defensed and 24 special teams tackles (19 solo) in the regular season and one tackle on defense and four on special teams – all unassisted – in the postseason.
View photos of new Giants defensive back and special teamer Keion Crossen.
In 2020, Crossen started each of the last four games – his first career starts – while playing all 16 games for Houston. He posted career-high totals of 34 tackles (25 solo) and five passes defensed. Crossen had a career-best nine tackles (eight solo) in his starting debut at Chicago on Dec. 13.
Crossen entered the NFL in 2018 as the Patriots' seventh-round draft choice, No. 243 overall. As a rookie, he contributed mostly on special teams but also played as a reserve corner and finished with seven tackles on both defense and special teams. Crossen played six snaps on defense and 18 on special teams in the Patriots' victory against the Rams in the Super Bowl.
On Aug. 31, 2019, Crossen was traded to the Texans for a 2020 sixth-round draft choice. In his first season in Houston he played in all 16 regular-season and two postseason games and tallied eight tackles (six solo) on defense and five stops (four solo) on special teams.
A North Carolina native, Crossen played four seasons at Western Carolina, where he posted 165 tackles (106 solo), three interceptions, 19 passes defensed, 1.0 sack, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
*Earlier today, the Giants exchanged No. 3 quarterbacks when they waived/injured Clayton Thorson (concussion) and signed free agent Brian Lewerke.
*The Giants also placed on injured reserve three players who were injured in the preseason opener Saturday night against the Jets: linebacker TJ Brunson (torn ACL), guard Kyle Murphy (ankle) and safety Joshua Kalu (torn pectoral).
Brunson, a 2020 seventh-round draft choice, played in five games for the Giants last season.
View photos of the New York Giants' active 53-man roster as it currently stands.
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