No intros necessary for Clayton, Eli
With injuries to starting wide receivers Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks, replacements Michael Clayton (above) and Devin Thomas will have to step up. (Aug. 21, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
The Giants' newest receiver at yesterday's practice was the one who has known Eli Manning the longest, allowing them to zip right past that getting-to-know-you phase.
Michael Clayton, the former first-round pick of the Bucs who was signed by the Giants on Tuesday to give them some depth at the injury-riddled position, was a roommate with Manning while they were training in Florida before the 2004 draft. They lived together in a two-bedroom apartment and even shared one car to get back and forth from their workouts together.
"We were together every day for three months, caught balls every single day," Clayton said. "I credit a lot of my early success coming out [80 receptions for 1,193 yards as a rookie] to the work that I did in the offseason with Eli. Being able to catch balls from a quality quarterback does a lot for you. It's amazing how things come full circle and now we're here being able to catch passes from him."
After six mostly unproductive years with the Bucs, Clayton was released before this season. He had tryouts with the Bears and Bengals before signing to play for Omaha in the UFL for four games. With its season completed, he was able to work out for the Giants on Tuesday. "I tore the workout up," he said.
Clayton didn't catch a lot of passes in Tampa Bay, but he was known as a solid blocking receiver. He plans on bringing that skill to the Giants.
"When I wasn't catching balls, I was smashing folks," he said. "That's one of my strong points. I wasn't getting a lot of balls but I had to make more first-force blocks than I did catches . . . Coaches see that and that's one thing that I'm going to bring to this team, to improve our running game, definitely."
The Giants also need him to make some catches in their depleted receiver group. With Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks out for Sunday, Clayton will be moved along rapidly in his education of the Giants' offense. How quickly can he be game-ready?
"Hopefully it takes about two days," Manning said. "He got here [Tuesday], I figure, first practice today, tomorrow he should know everything."
