The New York Giants added a veteran piece to their defensive line with the signing of tackle Corbin Bryant on Thursday. He had spent the past four seasons with the Buffalo Bills.
Center Kahled Holmes was released to create room on the roster. Holmes had been with the Giants since January, but they are comfortable at center with Weston Richburg and Brett Jones as the primary options, and guard Adam Gettis is also capable of stepping in at the position.
Bryant, 29, has appeared in 56 career games -- 18 starts -- with the Bills and Steelers. He was originally an undrafted free agent out of Northwestern in 2011.
The veteran has spent the past few years as part of the Bills’ defensive tackle rotation. He was used at times as a spot starter. He had a career high 10 starts and 45 tackles in 2015.
Bryant played in eight games last season before heading to the injured reserve list.
He comes to the Giants as much-needed depth on the interior of the defensive line. The Giants don’t have traditional run-stuffers behind projected starters Damon Harrison and Dalvin Tomlinson. Jay Bromley and Robert Thomas are more shoot-the-gap tackles.
Bryant (6-foot-4, 300 pounds) is a more natural run-stuffing 4-3 defensive tackle who was, at times, asked to play out of position as a nose tackle with the Bills. He should be a better fit in the Giants’ 4-3 scheme.
Bryant originally signed with the Steelers after the 2011 draft. He spent a chunk of his time in Pittsburgh on the practice squad, but eventually worked his way into the mix the following season with the Bills. Bryant became a permanent part of Buffalo's defensive line rotation during the 2013 season. He has 84 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his six professional seasons.
