The Giants will host former Denver Broncos defensive tackle Marcus Thomas on Thursday, ESPN’s Josina Anderson tweeted, and have already signed kick returner Laron Scott, the former Georgia Southern standout tweeted.
The Giants are expected to confirm the signing shortly and it is believed that Scott will take Shaun Rogers’ roster spot as the 12-year veteran’s season was ended earlier this week because of a blood clot in his leg.
Prior to hosting Thomas, the Giants addressed their needs at defensive tackle by signing undrafted rookie Oren Wilson and practice squad journeyman Carlton Powell, but Thomas brings more experience than either of them.
The former Florida Gator didn’t miss a game in his first four seasons, but even though he missed four last year, he still registered a career-high 43 tackles.
Thomas (6-foot-3, 316 pounds) was at his best in mid-December loss to the New England Patriots, accumulating nine tackles. Despite his success in 2011, the soon-to-be 28-year old was not re-signed, even though he had expressed interest in staying in Denver.
The addition of Scott (5-foot-9, 179 pounds), who was previously attending the New Orleans Saints training camp as an undrafted free agent, could be seen as a reaction to the Giants’ poor ball control on punt returns (both Jerrel Jernigan and Jayron Hosley muffed punts in the first preseason game), but Scott only returned one punt in college (although he did pick up 41 yards on that return).
Scott returned 81 kicks at Georgia Southern for a total of 2,257 yards and two touchdowns. He also blocked two kicks on special teams and intercepted 12 passes as a cornerback.
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