Less than 24 hours after firing their fourth-year head coach Brian Daboll, whose leadership resulted in a 21-41-1 record including two playoff games, the New York Giants were back at work tinkering with the roster that has brought them just two wins in 10 games so far this year. In one of their first moves, they added a Buffalo Bills castoff whose name made news for unwanted reasons during the preseason.
The player, tight end Zach Davidson, had been speculated to possibly re-sign with the Bills after regular starter Dalton Kincaid — who has 29 catches for 448 yards and leads Buffalo receivers with four touchdowns — exited Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins with a hamstring injury and is expected to miss at least one week, likely more.
But Davidson, on Tuesday, became a member of the Giants instead.
Davidson Signs With Giants Practice Squad
Apparently looking to add depth, New York held tryouts for three players, and at the same time, signed two more, including Davidson, to the team’s practice squad, according to a report by Dan Benton of USA Today Giants Wire.
Sizable even for a tight end at 6-foot 7, 251 pounds, Davidson may be seen as a “developmental” acquisition by the Giants, according to an SI.com report, with two current tight ends on the roster, Daniel Bellinger and Chris Manhertz, eligible to become free agents after the current season.
Drafted in the fifth round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, Davidson has spent most of his career on practice squads, first with the Vikings until they waived him on August 30, 2022, and then the Bills who signed him two days later to their own practice squad.
Davidson Recorded Only NFL Catch Last Year
The Bills finally gave the former NCAA Division II star, out of Central Missouri State, a shot at an active roster spot in November of last year. Davidson saw action — albeit in an extremely limited capacity — in two games.
In his debut, facing the Bills’ archrivals the Kansas City Chiefs in a November 17 game. Targeted by Bills quarterback Josh Allen just once in the game, Davidson came down with the reception for five yards.
He reached the active roster again for a December 8 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Davidson was on the field for 16 offensive snaps in that game, but was not targeted by Allen.
Victim of Punch by Shilo Sanders
Davidson has also served as an emergency punter. In an August preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Davidson was called upon to fill in for ailing regular punter Brad Robbins. The 27-year-old displayed a talent for the role, getting off two punts of 62 yards and 42 yards in the game.
But it was that same August 23 preseason game in which Davidson made headlines for another reason. He was on the receiving end of a punch thrown by rookie undrafted Bucs free agent Shilo Sanders – son of Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and brother of Cleveland Browns back-up quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Sanders was ejected from the game and, the next day, waived by Tampa Bay.
Davidson turned his back and walked away after the punch, which came after the Buffalo tight end aggressively blocked Sanders downfield.
“I was just chasing a far-deep DB and trying to finish through the whistle and he had a little bit more to say,” Davidson said of the incident, as quoted by SI.com. “I didn’t say anything. I may have gestured something but if you get mad for getting blocked, I can’t really control what else he does.”
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