The New York Giants are continuing to fill the holes on their roster with low-cost free agency moves. New York went into this offseason well over the cap. New GM Joe Schoen made a lot of moves to free up money for roster improvements. With free agency winding down, the remaining players available are likely to receive veteran minimum contracts. Today, the Giants filled another roster hole with a low-cost contract by signing defensive tackle Justin Ellis.
The Giants lost nose tackle Austin Johnson to the Los Angeles Chargers through free agency this offseason. This left a large gap on the Giants’ defensive line with no solid nose tackle left on the roster. Joe Schoen has seemingly filled that hole by the way of 6-foot-2, 305-pound Justin Ellis. New defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is familiar with Ellis as he coached him for three years with the Baltimore Ravens.
What Justin Ellis brings to the New York Giants
Since being drafted by the Raiders in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, Justin Ellis has played in 100 regular-season games with 50 starts for the Raiders (2014-18) and Ravens (2019-21). He is a 31-year-old veteran run-stuffer with experience playing in Wink Martindale’s defensive scheme.
Justin Ellis might not provide much in the pass-rushing department. The Louisiana Tech product has totaled 0.5 career sacks through eight years in the NFL. But Ellis has made a decent impact in his career as a two-down run defender. The most productive season of his career came in 2017 when Ellis 48 combined tackles in 16 games with 14 starts.
Justin Ellis showing his power on this play. He is having a really good season. Tackle for loss on the play. pic.twitter.com/NnKBDoLWP5
— Evan Groat (@Egroat5) October 21, 2017
The last three years of Justin Ellis’s NFL career were spent with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2021, Ellis played 35% of the Ravens’ defensive snaps in the regular season. Wink Martindale was comfortable giving Justin Ellis significant playing time, making this signing one of great value. The Giants are not making a splash with this signing, but they are acquiring a quality player at a position of need with scheme familiarity.