Giants re-sign wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins to 1-year deal
What it means:
New York Giants wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins signed a one-year contract on Thursday.
Hodgins will remain in New York with the ability to become a restricted free agent after next season. Expect the 24-year old to compete for at least a backup receiving role after he logged 251 receiving snaps for the Giants in 2022.
On 39 targets last season, Hodgins ranked 37th among wide receivers with a 75.8 Pro Football Focus receiving rating while also recording 33 receptions for 351 yards and 4 touchdowns and 1.40 yards per route run.
The Giants re-signed Hodgins on Wednesday.
What it means:
Hodgins, 24, was scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent but is returning to the Giants after being claimed off waivers from the Bills in November. He quickly evolved into an every-down receiver for New York and was a prominent red-zone target for Daniel Jones. Hodgins finished the season with 33 catches for 351 yards and four touchdowns in eight games with the Giants and caught nine more balls for 108 yards and one score in two playoff contests. Hodgins should face more competition for targets and playing time in 2023, assuming the Giants find much-needed upgrades at the position.
Hodgins finished the 2022 regular season with 37 catches on 48 targets for 392 yards and four touchdowns across 10 contests between the Bills and the Giants. He added nine receptions on 11 targets for 108 yards and a touchdown in two postseason games.
What it means:
Hodgins began the season on Buffalo's practice squad and didn't see game action until Week 5, when he caught four passes for 41 yards against Pittsburgh. The Bills cut him three weeks later, and he subsequently latched on with the Giants. The move to New York proved to be fruitful, as he logged over 60 percent of the team's offensive snaps in all 10 of the regular-season and playoff contests in which he played. Hodgins really got going in Week 13 against Washington, tallying five catches for 44 yards and his first NFL touchdown, and he proceeded to find the end zone in three of his final four regular-season contests. His best game of the campaign then came in New York's wild-card round playoff victory over Minnesota, as he tallied eight catches on nine targets for 105 yards and another score. Hodgins enters the offseason as an exclusive rights free agent, meaning that New York has to offer him only a one-year, league-minimum contract to ensure he stays with the team. Given his late-season ascent up the team's receiver depth chart, it seems likely that the choice to bring Hodgins back will be a no-brainer for the Giants.
Isaiah Hodgins (ankle) good to go for Giants' Divisional matchup
What it means:
New York Giants wide receiver Isaiah Hodgins (ankle) is not on the final injury report for the Divisional Round against the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday.
Hodgins was listed as a limited practice participant this week, but he will be out there for the Giants on Saturday evening. In the Wild Card Round, Hodgins led the Giants in targets (9), receptions (8), and receiving yards (105). He also scored a touchdown for the fifth time in six appearances. Hodgins should be a top target again on Saturday in a game the Giants are expected to be trailing in.
Hodgins has a $6,700 salary for the Divisonal Round and numberFire's models project him for 9.3 FanDuel points, with 7.4 targets, 4.5 receptions, and 54.0 yards. He scored 13.8 FanDuel points versus the Eagles in Week 14 by hauling in 4 catches on 6 targets for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Hodgins (ankle) doesn't have a designation for Saturday's divisional-round game at Philadelphia, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.
What it means:
Hodgins was listed as limited on all three of the Giants' injury reports this week, but his ankle issue won't stop him from suiting up for the second round of the postseason. Since landing with the team prior to Week 10, he's been one of its top three wide receivers, gathering in 41 of 51 targets for 456 yards and five touchdowns over the past nine games.
Hodgins (ankle) was a limited participant during Wednesday's practice, Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports reports.
What it means:
Hodgins didn't do much during the Giants' walk-through practice Tuesday and remains limited Wednesday due to an ankle injury he presumably suffered during the wild-card win over Minnesota. The severity of the issue remains unclear, but as of now, it doesn't appear like he's in danger of missing Saturday's divisional-round matchup against Philadelphia. The Oregon State product topped the century mark to open the playoffs, finishing with eight receptions on nine targets for 105 yards and a score, and has quickly turned into Daniel Jones' top pass catching option, totaling 33 catches on 42 targets for 355 yards and five scores over the Giants' past six games.