The Giants announced they have signed tight end Ben Patrick, who played the last four seasons for the Arizona Cardinals.
Patrick, 6-3 and 258 pounds, has played in 42 regular season games with 20 starts. He has caught 45 passes for 446 yards (9.9-yard average) and four touchdowns. Patrick has also played in five postseason games with two starts and caught five passes for 51 yards, including a leaping one-yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner between 2 Pittsburgh defenders in Super Bowl XLIII.
Patrick played 3 seasons at Duke, were he earned a degree in African American studies, before transferring to Delaware for his final collegiate season in 2006.
"He worked out very well for us," Coach Tom Coughlin said. "He caught the ball well, moved well, he's in very good shape."
Gilbride listed several receivers who impressed him in the early practices.
"Victor Cruz has looked pretty good," he said. "You've got Domenik Hixon back, who's looked good. Devin (Thomas) has looked good. Sam Giguere has looked good. No one has gotten a lot of repetitions, but you do see some of the quickness, some of the physical skill set that you need to play those positions. Hopefully, as they do it enough times, they will have learned it well enough that you can actually see whatever ability they have. It's hard to be good at anything, fluent at anything, when you're still thinking and all of those guys are still thinking."
Fewell is eager to begin working with first-round draft choice Prince Amukamara, who has not yet signed a contract and reported to camp.
"It is very tough because every day that he misses, he is missing good knowledge and good information," Fewell said. "It is a word that he can use with his skill set so that will be very difficult. We would like to get him in as soon as possible but again, that's above me right now."
Offensive lineman Adam Koets is on the reserve/physically unable to perform list with knee tendinitis. He tore his ACL last Nov. 7 in Seattle.
"I'm just trying to get this knee feeling good so I can get out there and perform 100 percent," Koets said. "It's a day-to-day thing right now. I'm not going to set myself back.
"My idea was to come out there and play, but it's not possible at this point. I'm just trying to get better and get out there. It's definitely frustrating. It's not fun to be sitting on the sideline. I want to be back to playing football and get back to 100 percent and compete."
Rookie running back Martell Mallard was waived injured. Safety Chad Jones was waived/non-football injury. The Giants' third-round draft choice in 2010, Jones was in a serious auto accident last year and is still rehabbing his leg, which was badly injured in the crash.
Jones was at practice and received an ovation from the players after Coughlin introduced him during the post-workout team huddle. "It was really nice to see him," Coughlin said. "I looked over and saw this big guy on the sideline and said, 'Is that Chad?' He looks great, he sounds good."
Jones said he is "70 percent" physically and his goal is to return to the practice field in the Giants' 2012 training camp.
Defensive end Osi Umenyiora continues to stay off the practice field.
"The Osi issue – I really don't have anything to comment on, because it's not resolved," Coughlin said. "I would not be the one to comment about that. I think at some point we'll have all those answers for you, but tonight I don't have them."
Coughlin said Umenyiora's surgically-repaired hip is not the reason for his absence.
The coach said the situation is not currently a distraction, but "we wouldn't want to go a whole lot further than this, obviously. We want everybody focused on making our team better. The sooner all these things get resolved and we get Osi back on the field, the better we're going to be."
Coughlin said he is "hopeful" that Umenyiora will soon be on the field.
The highlight of practice was Perrilloux's 65-yard pass to third-round draft choice Jerrel Jernigan…Rosenfels connected with Darius Reynaud and Devin Thomas for long gains and Victor Cruz on a pinpoint pass in the end zone.
Tonight's attendance was 632.
The Giants players are off tomorrow and will return to meetings and practice on Wednesday morning.
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