ALBANY, N.Y. -- On the eve of training camp, New York Giants general manager Jerry Reese signed his top two draft picks on Saturday, coming to terms with Jason Pierre-Paul and Linval Joseph.
Pierre-Paul, the 6-foot-5 defensive end out of South Florida, should be doing some of his signature backflips: His five-year deal is worth $20,050,000 with $11,629,807 guaranteed, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported. Pierre-Paul was the last of the Giants' draft picks to sign, allowing the team to open camp on Sunday with no holdouts.
Drafted 15th overall, Pierre-Paul is a raw rookie who will be groomed behind Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Mathias Kiwanuka. The 270-pound specimen played just one season of high-level college football at South Florida before turning pro after his junior year. He played at College of the Canyons in California and Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College, and had only one full season of high school football under his belt.
Now he will provide depth and hope to get a few snaps spelling Tuck, Umenyiora or Kiwanuka.
Earlier on Saturday, Reese signed Joseph, the 6-4 defensive tackle from East Carolina selected in the second round. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed but offensive lineman Zane Beadles, who was selected a pick ahead of Joseph at 45th overall by the Broncos, recently signed a four-year deal worth $4.2 million with $2.7 million guaranteed, according to the Denver Post.
Joseph likely is slotted at a deal very close to those numbers. The 328-pound space eater is athletic and strong. He impressed in offseason workouts and is a strong candidate to be the rookie with the biggest impact for the Giants.
Joseph will battle for playing time behind starters Barry Cofield and Chris Canty.
The Giants also added backup safety John Busing, a 6-2 veteran who has played four seasons in the league. Busing played his first three years with the Bengals before making 32 tackles and starting four games for the Texans last year.
Busing provides the team with more depth at safety, where the team lost third-round pick Chad Jones to a car accident. Star safety Kenny Phillips is still making his way back from knee surgery and will start camp on the physically unable-to-perform list. Phillips, who can come off the PUP list at any time during the preseason, isn't expected to be able to practice for at least a week or two as the Giants take it slow with the third-year player.
With all seven of their draft picks signed, the Giants' biggest concern now entering camp is health. The Giants will take it slow with several players nursing injuries such as Phillips, Umenyiora (hip) and new middle linebacker Keith Bulluck (knee).
Ohm Youngmisuk covers the Giants for ESPNNewYork.com. Follow him on Twitter.