The New York Giants added some much-needed depth in the deep secondary Tuesday, as they signed former Coastal Carolina safety Clayton Isbell to their roster, per ESPN’s Jordan Raanan. In a corresponding move, the Giants waived/injured wide receiver Dennis Houston (h/t Charlotte Carroll of The Athletic).
The Giants signed safety Clayton Isbell to get extra safety depth
At 6’2″ and 220 pounds, Isbell could provide New York with size and athleticism in the secondary. The team lacks depth at the safety positions as Dane Belton, Tyler Nubin, and Jason Pinnock are the team’s only main safeties. Isbell played two college seasons, his junior year at Utah and his senior year at Coastal Carolina. In his senior season, the safety recorded 89 combined tackles including 4.5 for a loss, and had three interceptions along with five pass deflections in 13 games.
Isbell could see some action in the Giants’ final preseason game against the New York Jets so that head coach Brian Daboll and his coaching staff have an idea of what kind of player they will be trying to develop. He probably wouldn’t see the field much if he does play, as New York wants to finalize their roster not too long after the conclusion of that game, but it can help the coaching staff identify weaknesses to help him mold into an impactful NFL player down the road.
It is unclear what kind of role the Giants will give the undrafted free agent, but it is nevertheless a good depth signing as they badly need insurance in a secondary that is seeing injuries start to mount. It is unlikely that he will see a lot of reps in the regular season, as he would be a backup at best and perhaps could be on the practice squad. However, if Isbell adapts well to NFL play, he could climb up the depth chart very quickly given the room for opportunity.
