The Giants are willing to wait for Jay Fiedler to get healthy, and when he is, they are anxious to see if he fits as their backup quarterback.
“When the time comes, we’ll work him out,” GM Ernie Accorsi said yesterday. “We’re interested in him.”
If this sounds like a recurring theme that’s because it is. The Giants wanted to sign Fiedler a year ago but he opted to revisit his Long Island roots and play for the Jets, sensing he’d have a better shot to get on the field with Chad Pennington coming off shoulder surgery than he did backing up Eli Manning.
Indeed, Fiedler planned it right, and when Pennington was injured again Sept. 25 vs. the Jaguars, Fiedler moved in as the Jets starter. His reign lasted a handful of plays before he tore the labrum in his right shoulder and was done for the season.
The Jets released the 34-year old Fiedler on Feb. 22 and he has only begun to throw distances of 20-25 yards. His agent, Brian Levy, said Fiedler expects to be ready to audition for interested teams by the second week of June. Count the Giants as one team sure to bring him in.
Another club wanting to take a look is sure to be the Patriots with the retirement of Doug Flutie.
Behind Manning, the Giants have Tim Hasselbeck and Jared Lorenzen but believe they need to upgrade the position. If they sign Fiedler, Hasselbeck and Lorenzen would battle for the No. 3 job.