Giants finally land Arrington

After quite an extensive courtship, the Giants and Pro Bowl linebacker LaVar Arington finally came to terms on a seven-year deal that will pay him $49 million. The Giants sharply upgraded their linebacker corps and entire defense when they signed three-time Pro Bowler LaVar Arrington.

"He really wanted to be here from the jump, but he had to work things out and get the best value he could," said Antonio Pierce, who played with Arrington in Washington. "I know him. He's a guy who's going to test all his options and not just jump on the first offer. This is a great place for him. It's a market where he can build himself back up to where he used to be."

Arrington, the second overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft, was one of the NFL’s most productive and exciting linebackers in his six seasons with the Washington Redskins.

The 6-3, 253-pound Arrington has played in 79 regular season games with 67 starts. He has been credited with 467 tackles (335 solo), 22.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and three interceptions. Arrington played for the NFC Pro Bowl team every season from 2001-2003.

"We needed a big, power player to add to our defense and LaVar Arrington is that," said general manager Ernie Accorsi. "He has a presence about him and he makes us a better football team. The agreement we came to is a fair deal for the player and a fair deal for the organization.

"We came to an agreement that achieves what everybody wants: the player being rewarded for performance. Which is exactly what LaVar and the Giants wanted."

Arrington is the second veteran linebacker to join the Giants this week; Brandon Short, who played for the Giants from 2000-2003 and was Arrington's teammate at Penn State, re-signed with the team after two seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

"He wants to be here," Pierce explained. "That's the reason he came back to take the physical. He wanted to be around football right now. When you're not around football, you're on the streets -- you're what they call a 'street free agent.' He missed football and he's the kind of guy that wants to be around it all the time."