After addressing two needs on the defensive side of the ball in their first foray into free agency, the Giants yesterday began tackling their offensive line woes when they signed Shaun O’Hara, a guard with the Browns who figures to move in as the Giants new starting center.
O’Hara, a Rutgers grad who attended high school in Hillsborough, N.J., replaces Chris Bober, the center the past two years, a player the Giants opted not to pursue aggressively. O’Hara started 14 games at both guard spots last season and every game in 2002, mostly at guard. He considers himself a natural center.
“I played center my first two years at Cleveland, and then they switched me to guard,” O’Hara said. “I like playing center. You’ve got to be smart and you’ve got to be vocal, and it fits my personality.”
At 26 years old, O’Hara is the sort of young, developing player the Giants have targeted. He was undrafted in 2000 coming out of Rutgers but at 6-3 and 306 pounds has earned a reputation as a tough, hard-working player who should fit neatly into Tom Coughlin’s new regime.
He also comes relatively cheap, signing a three-year, $5.4 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $2 million. If Bober would have accepted that deal, he likely would have been re-signed.
O’Hara, who provides depth at guard, will compete at center with Wayne Lucier and anyone else the Giants might draft for a starting job.
The Giants today will meet with Barrett Green, the Lions’ small, swift, weak-side linebacker. Dhani Jones, the starter for the past two years, wants more money than the Giants are willing to pay. Green will be in for a look-see, but the club is not expected to make a bid for him.