After losing Brandon Myers to the Buccaneers, the Giants kicked the tires on a number of free agent tight ends this past offseason, including Brandon Pettigrew and others. However, the team ultimately didn’t make any major additions at the position, and that decision looks like the best one the front office made all year. As Peter King of The MMQB.com details, new No. 1 tight end Larry Donnell has been a revelation during the first few weeks of this season, racking up 25 receptions and four touchdowns already, just three years removed from going undrafted and unsigned out of Grambling State.
As we look forward to seeing if Donnell can keep up his impressive play throughout the season, let’s round up a few more items from around the NFL’s two East divisions….
- Defensive end Emmanuel Dieke, who was cut by the Giants last month, is working out for the Dolphins today, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter).
- Pointing out that the remainder of Tom Brady‘s contract remains “insanely team-friendly,” Ben Volin of the Boston Globe wonders if the Patriots would ever get to the point where they’d consider trading their longtime signal-caller to a team in need of a quarterback.
- Rex Ryan‘s job as the Jets‘ head coach may hinge on whether or not he decides to continue to rely on Geno Smith as the club’s No. 1 quarterback, writes Steve Selby of the New York Post.
- Mark Bullock of the Washington Post takes an in-depth look at why Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo isn’t proving to be worth his large 2014 salary in the early going this season.