The New York Giants are dealing with a number of injuries in the secondary and after starting off the season 0-2 with two bad losses, the front office will take a look at free agent safety Kerry Rhodes as they try to recover heading into Week 3.
The team lost starting safety Stevie Brown in the preseason after he tore his ACL and with the defense looking terrible through two games, the Giants may shake things up by signing Rhodes. According to Pro Football Talk, Rhodes worked out for the team this week and he has been a free agent since he was released by the Cardinals and he has yet to get any real interest from any teams in the league until this point.
Deadspin.com put out a column earlier in the week asking why Rhodes hasn't been signed yet by a team after having a solid season last year for the Cardinals. Rhodes is getting up there in age, but Charles Woodson has shown that playing safety can continue at an older age than corner and one reason the article brought up was the fact that a report came out earlier in the year showing photos and insinuating that Rhodes is gay. The Deadspin article asks if that is the reason why he has not been signed and whether or not he has been blacklisted by NFL teams.
Deadspin.com followed up on that article with an audio clip from Carolina Panthers free agent Steve Smith, as he was asked on the radio about why Rhodes has not yet been signed. The radio hosts asked Smith the same question that Deadspin brought up and Smith distanced himself from Kerry, possibly because of the previous gay rumors. Smith said that he and Rhodes do not "go in the same circles" and that he doesn't "know Kerry", possibly referring to the fact that he is gay.
The gay rumors came up in April after a website called MediaTakeOut.com posted photos of Rhodes with a man on vacation, implying that he could be a homosexual. This is one reason why Deadspin thinks that he is not yet signed, although that could obviously change if the Giants decide to pick him up.
Last season Rhodes had a productive season at safety while starting in all but one game and he finished with double digit pass deflections, four picks as well as two forced fumbles. The Cardinals defense was one of the only things that performed well last season and now he remains a free agent. The Giants still are without Will Hill after his suspension and with rookie Cooper Taylor being a rook, they may want some veteran help in the secondary.
