Run-stuffer Justin Ellis reunites with Giants D-coordinator
Justin Ellis walks off the field before a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 21, 2021, in Charlotte, N.C. Credit: AP/Jacob Kupferman
The Giants agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran nose tackle Justin Ellis on Wednesday, giving them the run-stuffer they lacked last season after they let Dalvin Tomlinson leave in free agency as well as another player familiar with the schemes of new defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale.
Ellis, 6-2 and 350 pounds, played the past three seasons for the Ravens with Martindale as the defensive coordinator there.
Ellis, 31, has played in 100 regular-season games with 50 starts for the Raiders (2014-18) and Ravens (2019-21), totaling 148 tackles, four quarterback hits, and six tackles for loss. He is not a pass-rusher — he had just one half of a sack in his career — but is a lane-clogging tackle who can provide push against a pocket that can allow outside rushers to reach quarterbacks.
Ellis is the second addition to the Giants’ defense since free agency opened last week and the second who played under Martindale. He follows defensive end Jihad Ward, who signed on Monday having played in Baltimore in 2019 and 2020 before spending 2021 with the Jaguars.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
