Giants sign former Vikings draft pick after getting throttled in Week 1

A day after the Minnesota Vikings handed them a loss in the opening week of the 2024 season, the New York Giants have apparently added a player who fans of the purple and gold are familiar with.

On Monday, the Giants revealed that they have signed wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette, who was most recently cut by the Carolina Panthers before the start of the regular season.

New York is now the fifth team that Smith-Marsette has been a member of since entering the league a few years ago. The Vikings were his first landing spot after they selected him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

New York Giants sign former Minnesota Vikings WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette to be a return specialist

Smith-Marsette probably won't get much action with the Giants offense at first this season, as the team's website referred to him as a wide receiver/return specialist in their official announcement.

Last year, the former Minnesota draft pick returned 37 punts in 17 games with the Panthers, including a 79-yard return for a touchdown in a Week 9 contest against the Chicago Bears. Smith-Marsette averaged 8.7 yards per punt return last season, which ranked 17th in the NFL.

A need for a new returner was created for the Giants after the team's primary punt returner, Gunner Olszewski, suffered an injury before Sunday's game against the Vikings that will keep him sidelined for multiple weeks.

New York had to turn to wide receiver Darius Slayton to return punts against Minnesota, but he ended up suffering a concussion in the game. So that's why Smith-Marsette is now a member of the Giants.

Smith-Marsette's lone season with the Vikings took place when he was a rookie in 2021. He appeared in eight games (including one start) for Minnesota, and he finished the campaign with five catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He also returned four kickoffs for the Vikings in 2021, averaging 20.8 yards per return.

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