Roster

The New York Giants have reached a tentative agreement with veteran DB Sammy Knight to replace the departed Gibril Wilson. The signing was disclosed by a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the contract was not signed. Wilson left the Super Bowl champions for a $39 million contract with the Oakland Raiders. Financial terms were not immediately available, but it was believed that the Knight will get a three-year deal worth between $5-million to $6 million. A 13-year veteran who will turn 33 in September, Knight led the Jacksonville Jaguars with 93 tackles last season. He also had four interceptions and a forced fumble. Knight added 20 tackles in the postseason, including 13 in the wild-card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

According to the New York Daily News, Giants RB Brandon Jacobs walked into Madison Square Garden on Friday with a cast on his left forearm and his arm wrapped in a sling. Jacobs had surgery recently on his left wrist. Jacobs said doctors "just cleaned some stuff out," and that he "definitely" will be ready when training camp begins in July. A team source said the surgery was no big deal. Jacobs didn't have much to say about it, so who knows how much it affected him late in the season or in the playoffs? He carried the ball 62 times for 197 yards (3.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns while sharing the load with rookie Ahmad Bradshaw during the Giants' four-game Super Bowl run.

Wrist - Probable for the start of training camp

Giants LB Antonio Pierce led the team in tackles with 103 total (77 solo) with a sack, an interception, eight passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Colts.com reports that the club has placed LB Keith O'Neil (hernia) on injured reserve. He won't play this season.

Rookie RB Ahmad Bradshaw may have been a Fantasy afterthought after being a seventh-round pick in the 2007 draft, but he proved to be an asset for the Giants. In 12 regular-season games, Bradshaw had 190 rush yards on 23 carries (8.3 avg.) with a touchdown, adding 12 yards on two catches. In the postseason, Bradshaw led the Giants in rushing with 208 yards on 48 carries (4.3 avg.) with a touchdown, adding 27 receiving yards.

Giants rookie WR Steve Smith might be the only guy we peg as a sleeper in 2008 who caught just eight passes in 2007's regular season. That's because after playing in Weeks 1 and 2, Smith broke his shoulder blade and missed action until Week 15 when he caught an 8-yard pass, then was statless in Week 16 before getting some action in Week 17. His regular season ended with eight catches for 63 yards (7.9 avg.). But his postseason was when he shined as he nabbed 14 passes for 152 yards (10.9 avg.).

Giants DL Fred Robbins came away with five tackles (four solo) and one sack during a Week 15 loss to the Redskins. Robbins tied a career high with 5 1/2 sacks, in which he set last season. He now has 3 1/2 sacks in his last four games.

Quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, who lost the No. 3 job to Anthony Wright, and defensive tackle Jonas Seawright, who played in nine games last season, were cut as the Giants released 21 players on Saturday. Also released were tight end Charles Davis; receivers Brandon London and Kevin McMahan; defensive ends Tommy Davis and Marquise Gunn; defensive tackle Tui Alailafaleula; linebackers James Davis and Tyson Smith; cornerbacks Gerrick McPhearson, Darren Barnett and E.J. Underwood; and safety J.R. Reed.

The Cleveland Browns signed RB Chris Barclay, TE Jonny Harline, DB Tim Mixon, DL Chase Pittman, DL Melila Purcell, WR Steve Sanders and WR Syndric Steptoe to the practice squad Monday. Six of the eight players (Barclay, Louis, Pittman, Purcell, Sanders and Steptoe) were with the Browns during training camp, including three 2007 draft choices (Purcell, Pittman and Steptoe). Harline is an undrafted rookie free agent out of Brigham Young who spent training camp with the Indianapolis Colts. Mixon is an undrafted rookie free agent out of California who spent training camp with the Chicago Bears.

Aside from second-round pick WR Steve Smith, the Giants' 2007 draft class includes: Texas CB Aaron Ross, Penn State DT Jay Alford, Brown LB Zak DeOssie, Western Oregon TE Kevin Boss, Oregon State OT Adam Koets, Arizona SS Michael Johnson and Marshall RB Ahmad Bradshaw.

Danny Ware only played in one game with the Giants after being signed off the Jets' practice squad. He did not record an offensive stat in 2007.

Quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, who lost the No. 3 job to Anthony Wright, and defensive tackle Jonas Seawright, who played in nine games last season, were cut as the Giants released 21 players on Saturday. Also released were tight end Charles Davis; receivers Brandon London and Kevin McMahan; defensive ends Tommy Davis and Marquise Gunn; defensive tackle Tui Alailafaleula; linebackers James Davis and Tyson Smith; cornerbacks Gerrick McPhearson, Darren Barnett and E.J. Underwood; and safety J.R. Reed.

Entering 2007, Eli Manning was the Fantasy QB everyone was afraid to take. Going no higher than as a mid-round pick, many selected him to platoon with another passer in their Fantasy leagues. And while his numbers were mostly consistent throughout the year, Manning didn't start to play excellent football until after the Fantasy regular season. After an amazing Week 1 -- 312 passing yards and four touchdowns at Dallas -- Manning was somewhat lost among the Fantasy crowd, posting only one other 300-yard game (Week 6 at Atlanta), only three games with two touchdowns (all in October) and no other multi-TD efforts until Week 17 vs. New England. Manning also had six games with at least two interceptions. In the regular season, Manning totaled 3,336 yards on 297-of-529 passing (56.1 pct.; 6.31 yards per attempt) with 23 touchdowns, 20 interceptions, 69 rush yards and a rushing TD and seven fumbles lost. But in the postseason, Manning peaked as the Giants got hot and ran the table all the way to a Super Bowl crown. In four playoff games, Manning completed 72-of-119 passes (60.5 pct.) for 854 yards (7.2 yards per attempt) with six touchdowns and one interception and 10 rush yards.

On Monday, the Vikings waived DT Joe Bradley, DT Alex Guerrero, QB Drew Henson, LB John Kerr, WR Todd Lowber and CB Jerron Wishom.

The Giants drafted WR Mario Manningham in the third round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Manningham is expected to compete for the No. 3 wide receiver spot with the Giants with Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss and David Tyree in 2008. Manningham, from Michigan, will eventually be the successor to Amani Toomer -- or so Giants fan hope. The Giants also drafted QB Andre Woodson from Kentucky in the sixth round.

Notable inactives for the Week 11 Giants-Lions game include: RB Derrick Ward, WR Steve Smith, DB Craig Dahl, DL Dave Tollefson, QB Jared Lorenzen and DL Manuel Wright. For the Lions, DL Ikaika Alama-Francis, QB Dan Orlovsky, RB Tatum Bell, DB Dovonte Edwards, DB Tony Beckham and DL Dewayne White are inactive.

Giants CB Sam Madison ended 2007 with 67 total tackles (59 solo), a sack, four interceptions, 14 passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Only seeing action in three games, Giants QB Anthony Wright completed 1-of-7 passes for 12 yards, adding minus-1 rush yard.

Sitting in front of his locker, Giants linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka put his left leg into a knee-high protective boot and tightened the straps. Instead of talking about facing Jeff Garcia and the Tampa Bay offense on Sunday in an NFC wild-card game, Kiwanuka spoke of next season before heading home on Thursday. Kiwanuka, who had 47 tackles and 4 1/2 sacks in his first season since switching from defensive end to linebacker, doesn't know whether he will be ready for minicamp this spring. He guaranteed he will play next season. Kiwanuka, 24, feels his recovery is progressing, but he can't wait for the day that he can throw away his crutches, get out and run, and even do the little things like carry his groceries up the stairs. "Once I am off the crutches and I can get around on my own, that will be the first milestone," Kiwanuka said, adding that his family has been helping with those little things during the past six weeks.

Leg - Probable for the start of 2008 training camp

On Sunday, the Rams let go of the following players: WR Rasheed Marshall, WR Nate Morton, WR Markee White, RB Kay-Jay Harris, FB Brad Lau, DE Alton Pettway, LB Larry Edwards, DB Jeffery Dukes and WR-turned-CB Harrison Smith.

The Rams have waived the following players: CB Josh Lay, DT Tim Sandidge, LB Jamal Brooks, TE Mark Anelli, WR Shaine Smith, WR Fred Gibson, OTs Drew Strojny and Ken Shackelford, PK Kevin Lovell, DB Andre Kirkland and RB J.D. Washington.

Plaxico Burress proved to be a strong No. 1 Fantasy receiver when he was healthy in 2007, and was nearly a liability when he wasn't healthy. Through the first six weeks of the season, Burress was a machine: He scored in every game (eight total) and had 30 catches for 507 yards (16.9 avg.). But it was then when he seriously sprained his right ankle, then later hurt his left knee, and his stats went south. In the 10 games after his hot start, Burress totaled 518 yards on 40 catches (12.9 avg.) with four touchdowns. He limped into the postseason and contributed 221 yards on 18 catches (12.3 avg.) with the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII. After the big game, the New York Post revealed that Burress played the game with a sprained left MCL that he said he hurt slipping out of a shower six days earlier (there's no confirmation that Burress played this season with a sprained MCL, but it would explain a lot). In 16 regular-season games and four postseason games, Burress totaled 1,246 yards on 88 catches with 13 touchdowns (he had 1,025 yards and 12 TDs in the regular season).

Giants DB Gibril Wilson (knee) is out for Week 14 at Philadelphia. It will be the second straight game he is sidelined. Head coach Tom Coughlin said Wilson "will take