The Giants have added depth at the linebacker spot head of the upcoming draft. New York has signed Matthew Adams, per a team announcement.
Adams spent his first four seasons with the Colts, playing 58 games with Indianapolis. He started nine games across his first two seasons in the league, but throughout his career, his primary contributions have come on special teams. That remained true during his one-year stints in Chicago and Cleveland.
The former seventh-rounder was limited to 10 games with the Bears in 2022, but he still managed to record the second-most tackles of his career (26). Upon seeing his one-year Chicago deal expire, Adams joined the Browns on another low-cost contract of the same length. He played every game in 2023, logging a career-high 85 percent snap share on special teams.
The Giants have a number of options in place for the time being at the linebacker spot. That contingent includes Isaiah Simmons, who re-signed on a one-year deal last week. The former Cardinals first-rounder logged a rotational defensive role last season alongside Bobby Okereke and Micah McFadden. Each of the latter two are under contract for 2024 and beyond, so Adams will be hard-pressed to carve out a workload unrelated to his special teams duties on his latest team.
Still, the 28-year-old will be able to contribute in the third phase with New York. Adams will aim to help the Giants improve on special teams in 2024 after they ranked 21st in DVOA in that regard last season. The team entered Friday with $6.3M in cap space, but this agreement will not dramatically lower that figure if it is in line with the deals Adams played on over the past two years.
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