New York Giants Rumors: Team About To Sign Free Agent Linebacker

New York Giants rumors state that the team is about to improve on defense. These Giants rumors have linebacker Kelvin Sheppard ready to sign a free agent contract with the team. A report from NBC Sports states that Sheppard will sign with the Giants on Monday, April 11. The veteran linebacker immediately gives the Giants some much-needed depth in the linebacking corps and concludes a period where the team worked hard to bring him to New York.

It appears that these New York Giants rumors have a lot of validity, as Kelvin Sheppard has also taken to Twitter to announce his decision.

Excited to officially sign tomorrow an begin the next chapter of my career with the New York Football Giants!!!! #Blessed

— Kelvin Sheppard (@KelvinSheppard) April 10, 2016

During this NFL offseason, the Giants already brought in Keenan Robinson and re-signed Jasper Brinkley. Those three players should see a lot of time at the linebacker position for the Giants in 2016, giving the team depth in a much-needed spot. It will also allow the team to focus on other positions when the NFL Draft takes place in late April. While Sheppard has never been considered a flashy player, he is the type of veteran who can help elevate a team.

Kelvin Sheppard just turned 28 and played his last two NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins. Before that, Sheppard was drafted by the Buffalo Bills, where he played for two seasons, and then he played one year for the Indianapolis Colts. Sheppard finished the 2015 NFL season with 102 tackles, marking a career-high in the category. He also appeared in all 16 games for the Dolphins, starting at linebacker in 14 of them.

These New York Giants rumors continue a positive offseason for the team as it tries to become relevant in the NFC East again. The Giants didn’t have a lot of salary cap room to work with this year, but did a pretty good job at addressing some key needs. Now the remaining gaps in the roster can be dealt with during the 2016 NFL Draft, where the Giants have the No. 10 overall selection. The team didn’t add any compensation picks, though, so they enter the draft with only one selection in each of the first six rounds.

During the 2015 NFL season, the New York Giants ranked as the worst defense in the league. The Giants allowed 6,725 total yards, which amounted to 420.3 yards per game against them. That included 298.9 passing yards and 121.4 rushing yards that the defense averaged against them each week. Allowing 27.6 points a game didn’t help matters, either, as it kept Eli Manning and his offense from appearing in the postseason again.

Most NFL analysts don’t feel that the Giants are done improving the defense this offseason. A new mock draft from Sports Illustrated predicts that the Giants will select Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson with the first-round pick. They then have the Giants going after Indiana offensive tackle Jason Spriggs in the second round (pick No. 4o). Adding Spriggs could serve to improve the line and give Eli Manning more to work with on offense.

The Giants certainly have a lot of work to do during the summer camps and NFL preseason, especially with the other teams in the NFC East looking to improve this offseason as well. The disappointing finish to the 2015 NFL season still resonates with fans, as the Giants were actually ahead of the division-winning Washington Redskins with just four games left. If the New York Giants rumors about signing Kelvin Sheppard turn out to be correct, it will be another big step in the right direction for a team trying hard to improve.

[Photo by Ron Antonelli/Getty Images]