Giants linebacker Blake Martinez returned to the team on Saturday after a brief stay on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
“Blake is back with us in the building,’’ Giants coach Joe Judge said Saturday. “He was his normal self, smiling ear-to-ear, happy to be back with the team. He’s always a lot of fun to have around. He’s always got a good comment. Definitely a guy that communicates a lot in the meetings, so it’s good to have him back already.’’
“In terms of when he’ll be on the field with us, the plan is to get with the trainers and continue his ramp-up and build him back physically. When we know he’s ready to go, we’ll get him back on the field.’’
Martinez was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday. He didn’t participate in the team’s practice Saturday night at Eddie Moraes Stadium in Newark, N.J., part of the NFL’s “Back Together Saturday” initiative.
Martinez joined the Giants as a free agent in 2020 and was so impactful he was elected as a team captain, started all 16 games and led the Giants and was third in the NFL with 151 tackles (86 solo).
Another linebacker with whom the Giants are proceeding cautiously is Lorenzo Carter, who missed the final 11 games of last season with an Achilles tear.
“We’re just going to be careful with a few things right there,” Judge said of Carter. “With anyone coming off an injury like he was, we’re just making sure that we have a plan entering training camp and how to handle him throughout it.’’
Carter, on Saturday sounded delighted to be back.
“It’s nothing like being on the field with your guys,” he said. “Working through stuff, going through the game plan, all that. That’s probably the thing guys miss the most when they retire and being injured, out for the season.’’
With Martinez in “ramp-up’’ mode, Carter also being eased back and Reggie Ragland on the non-football injury list, the Giants, thin at linebacker, announced Saturday they signed veteran inside linebacker Todd Davis, an eight-year veteran who has played for three teams.
Davis, 6-foot-1, 230, played for New Orleans, Denver and Minnesota in his first seven NFL seasons. He has played in 96 regular-season games with 69 starts and played in five postseason games. He has 492 tackles (305 solo), three sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
In 2020, Davis played in 11 games with six starts for the Vikings. He made 34 tackles (15 solo), one sack and two passes defensed. Davis’ best season was 2018, when he started all 16 games and led Denver with a career-high 114 tackles.
“We’re really looking forward to getting him on the field,” Judge said. “He’ll come in and compete with the other linebackers at his position and work through his defensive responsibilities, as well as his role in the kicking game. [I] got to meet with him [Saturday], sit down face-to-face and have a good conversation [and] liked his energy.’’
Second-year tackle Matt Peart has passed his physical and has been removed from the physically unable to perform/active (PUP) list and can begin practicing. Five players remain on PUP/active: running back Saquon Barkley (knee), center Jonotthan Harrison (hamstring), tight end Kyle Rudolph (foot), linebacker Oshane Ximines (hamstring) and rookie cornerback Aaron Robinson (core muscle), the team’s third-round draft choice. … The Giants’ signed wide receiver Damion Willis, who was released by the Broncos. Willis, 6-2, 204, played in 10 games with two starts for the Bengals in 2019, catching nine passes for 82 yards.