The New York Giants need all the help they can get on defense — even if it’s from someone who hasn’t played in over a year.
The Giants signed former New Orleans Saints inside linebacker Anfernee Orji on Thursday after he missed all of 2025 with a torn ACL.
“The Giants have signed LB Anfernee Orji and waived DL Ben Barten,” Giants.com’s Dan Salomone wrote on his official X account on Thursday.
Orji, 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, made the Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2024 and played in 16 games with 2 starts. He was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans in May 2025 but was released in August after he tore his ACL in practice.
“The Giants have signed LB Anfernee Orji, per source,” The Athletic’s Dan Duggan wrote on his official X account. “Orji was a tryout during minicamp. He was with the Titans last offseason before suffering a torn ACL during camp. He appeared in 16 games for the Saints in 2024.”
NYG Inside LBs Called NFL’s ‘Worst Position Group’
New York Giants rookie linebacker Arvell Reese was so good in his final season at Ohio State that when scouts cut up his film, the consensus was he could be a Top 10 pick at 2 positions — edge rusher and inside linebacker.
The Giants took him at No. 5 overall and intend to play him at inside linebacker for good reason — that’s where they’ve been the worst in recent years, and 2025 was when they truly bottomed out.
“Going back and watching the (Giants) film on their off-ball linebackers in 2025 … just some true war crimes going on out there,” ESPN’s Mina Kimes said on July 1. “So many missed tackles. So many missed assignments. The Giants led the league with 75 different plays where they gave up 10 or more rushing yards. That’s just so many. (The off-ball linebackers) may have been the worst position group in the NFL.”
Enter Reese, who might be the most versatile defensive prospect in the 2026 draft class.
Giants Willing to Overpay to Fix Inside LB Room
ESPN’s Seth Walder gave out his offseason grades for all 32 NFL teams and generally praised the Giants, save for 1 move — signing inside linebacker and former 1st-round pick Tremaine Edmunds to a 3-year, $36 million contract.
Walder singled out the Edmunds deal as the 1 he disliked the most for the Giants this offseason but still gave the Giants a “B+” overall grade.
“In free agency, the Giants lost receiver Wan’Dale Robinson following his breakout 2025 campaign, leaving them with a weakness at the position — especially with Malik Nabers uncertain to be back by Week 1 from the knee injury he suffered early last season,” Walder wrote. “The team re-signed Jermaine Eluemunor to keep consistency at right tackle and brought in DT DJ Reader (to fill the hole left by Lawrence), CB Greg Newsome II and Edmunds — the last of whom was an overpay at three years, $36 million.”
Edmunds was part of a free-agent spending frenzy for the Giants under Harbaugh, a Super Bowl-winning head coach fired by the Baltimore Ravens after 18 seasons and immediately scooped up by the Giants.
It’s worth pointing out that the Giants released 1 inside linebacker — Bobby Okereke — only to pick up another linebacker who’d just been released by his team in Edmunds.
While Edmunds is a 2-time Pro Bowler and still started 13 games and had 112 tackles for the Bears in 2025, he was also being overpaid on a 4-year, $72 million contract and was released to clear up $15 million in salary cap space.
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