William Joseph, the first-round bust on the defensive line who was cut a couple of weeks ago, is now a Raider. He signed last night.

No black armbands, please. His demise here was pretty well set on Sept. 11, when the Giants placed him on IR with a back injury. So, toodles, Willie Jo. I’m sure he’ll be regaling the Oakland media with the same, wonderful yarns he’d spin for us slugs back east. (sarcasm). Ah, Willie Jo. He could tell quite a story. (more sarcasm).

Ciao for now.

Here’s what Derrick Ward had to say about his decision to re-sign with the Giants for one year, $1.1 million that could go up another million with incentives. Didn’t seem his heart was really in the looking around part of free agency, anyway.

“I had to keep my options open, but my main goal was to stay here with the Giants,” Ward said. “The Giants gave me my start. It feels good to come back to hopefully have a good year this year and be part of the Super Bowl champion Giants. Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish my career here.”

Ward said it was difficult to sit injured during the playoff run, especially after performing well in starting five of the eight games he did play.

“It was hard sitting out,” he said. “It’s been my dream since I was a little kid to play in the Super Bowl. I wasn’t able to play in it, but I felt like I was able to help the team enough to get us there. It was a win-win situation for me.”

Ward said he’s now 100 percent and should be ready to participate in the offseason training program that starts March 31.

Ciao for now.

Running back Derrick Ward took a look around the open market and obviously decided the Giants were the only ones he was going to get a decent offer from. He just re-upped with them for a year at $1.1 million, with another $1 million of incentives.

Ward, often injured during his career, was looking for a place he could start and be paid like a starter. But he has never played 16 games in a season, and this year wound up on IR the last four games with a broken fibula after sitting inactive with an ankle sprain in four of the five games before that.

Ward has looked quite good in healthy times, however, and his re-signing will enable the backfield to maintain the same depth behind starter Brandon Jacobs as it had last season.

More details as they come in.

Ciao for now.

It appears the Giants made a pretty solid pickup in former Texans linebacker Danny Clark last night. Not only has Clark had plenty of experience on the strong side, where he’s slated to back up Mathias Kiwanuka while contributing on special teams, but he also started six games for the Jaguars in 2003 on the weak side.

Could be a good replacement for Kawika Mitchell, or certainly at least some stiff competition for young Gerris Wilkinson to speed his development as a starter.

Anyway, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Clark couldn’t have been happier to sign with the Giants for two years, $4 million, and not just because of the paycheck. He’s reuniting with Tom Coughlin, the guy who drafted him in the seventh round out of Illinois in 2000.

“He made me do the right things,” Clark said of Coughlin, who was not exactly the warm and cuddly fellow back then that we all know today. “He ultimately teaches you how to be a professional. He teaches you to be accountable to your teammates, and be on time and dress appropriately. All that stuff molds a young guy to be an upstanding citizen in this league, and that’s something you don’t find all the time.”

Sounds like Clark, the first of Coughlin’s old Jags to join him, is a real fan. He even made Coughlin aware of the affect the coach had on him as a youngster before he signed last night.

Even better, he’s an aggressive player who led the Raiders in tackles in eight games in 2004, starting every game at middle linebacker. He started 15 games in 2005, again leading the Raiders in tackles.

He played the strong side last year in Houston, starting 13 games before a groin injury slowed him down.

“I have a passion for all three linebacker spots,” Clark said. “I’m a middle linebacker by trade, and am darned good on the outside as well. I think when you go downhill, my emphasis is on making big hits and disconnecting the ball from the ballcarrier. It doesn’t matter where you line up, as long as you make plays where you’re doing it.”

Hard to argue with the confidence. Now let’s see if the 30-year-old has anything left in the tank.

Ciao for now.

Since Billy Crystal was unsuccessful in his Yankees appearance as a designated hitter—he struck out against Tampa Bay—the Giants will now sign him to a one-day contract for the Thursday night regular-season opener. He will come in sometime in the second quarter for a series at middle linebacker in place of Antonio Pierce. Should be fun.

Just kidding. And, hey, it’s not even April Fools Day!

Ciao for now.

For all you salary-cap watchers, here’s the deal. The signings of quarterback David Carr to a one-year, $1 million and linebacker Danny Clark to two years, $4 million yesterday should leave the Giants between $8 and $9 million under the salary cap, considering they started the day at $11.1 under.

Sounds pretty comfy, right? Plenty of room for more free agents to join the Super Bowl winning troops, right? Plenty of room to squeeze, oh, say a trade and contract re-do for Falcons cornerback DeAngelo Hall in there, right?

Ehhhh. Not so fast.

Watch how fast $9 million goes out the window.

Figure the rookie salary cap, which comes out of the main cap, goes about $4 million for the Giants (it varies among teams based on number of picks, number of first rounders, etc.). Now take off about $3 million more, as a conservative estimate, for the redone contracts Jerry Reese will have to give Plaxico Burress, Chris Snee, and Michael Strahan as Super Bowl rewards. And also consider that, even though he just signed a new deal and really doesn’t need tinkering—nor deserve it—Osi Umenyiora might just get a bump, too.

Let’s say that brings it down to, oh, $1.5 million. Now, you’ll always need room in case the injury bug hits. That’s why Reese will save at least that much cushion for the season.

So, judging by that math—and believe me, there’s a good chance it’s wrong because I can’t even help a sixth-grader with her algebra—there’s really no room for any more free agent transactions unless Reese starts cutting players. I get the feeling he really doesn’t want to do that, though, because if he did he’d have done it before free agency started. I think a guy like R.W. McQuarters, rumored to be on his way out, is safe, at least for now.

You might also have read where Kevin Dockery and Michael Johnson got an extra $198,000 and $215,000 for their efforts last year. But that’s not counted against the cap because it came out of the NFL’s fund for performance-based pay, enabling low-salaried guys to boost their paychecks on the basis of the number of downs they played. Therefore, the Giants are still about $1.5 million under the cap.

Not that there’s a lot left out there worth signing. As you can see, Reese’s last two signings were designed for depth, not starting spots. Only safety Sammy Knight, signed at an economical $1.15 million cap figure, should appear in the starting lineup if health prevails in training camp.

Of course, teams can always add if they cut, so the trade for DeAngelo Hall is still a possibility. But certainly not at the pay level he wants. For the Giants to pull that one off and keep their roster fairly intact, Hall would have to come way, way down, and that’s not going to happen yet. I don’t think this trade will ever happen, but you never know.

Either way, don’t look for a lot more activity on the free agent front, unless there’s a player or two you’d rather see elsewhere. Because cutting is about what it will take to fit any new additions and accommodate the guys who are already here.

Ciao for now.

Those questions about whether Texans linebacker Danny Clark would sign with the Giants? Forget about ‘em. He signed late last night to a two-year, $4 million deal, according to NFL Network. That made it a 2-for-2 day for general manager Jerry Reese, and effectively replaced the free agent departure of strongside backer Reggie Torbor.

More details as they come in.

Ciao for now.

Here’s some of what David Carr had to say upon his joining the Giants today.

“I have a lot of calluses,” Carr said. “I’m like an old carpenter. I’ve been through it. If you let that stuff affect you, you’re not going to be able to do your job.

“One of the reasons I’m excited about coming here is they protect the quarterback well and they have playmakers on the outside.”

Carr certainly does have the calluses—and concussions—to prove it. He’s been sacked 262 times in his career, and he suffered two concussions last year as a Panther.

He also said quarterbacks coach Chris Palmer, his offensive coordinator in Houston, was a big reason he signed on.

“I’m excited to meet up with Chris again,” Carr said. “That’s really the main reason I came up here. He has the best feel for what I’m doing. He knows what’s best as far as what my mechanics should be when I throw the ball.”

Guess Palmer won’t have a lot of leisure time at camp this year. In addition to keeping Eli Manning on the straight and narrow, throwing wise, he has a reclamation project in Carr. And then there’s always Anthony Wright and Jared Lorenzen to deal with.

Your turn, guys. You like?

Ciao for now.

PS: Also, it looks like LB Danny Clark left his visit without a contract. We’ll see if he winds up signing anyway.

Got a little premature on the Danny Clark contract. Sources tell me it’s not a done deal yet. But Carr is, for one year, $1 million. Don’t know if the Clark situation will change, but you’ll be the first to know if it does.

Ciao for now.

Quarterback David Carr and linebacker Danny Clark agreed to contracts with the Giants this afternoon. I’ll try to get some figures, but Carr is believed to be a one-year deal.

Not a bad pickup as Eli Manning’s backup. He might just be decent behind a good line in the event of an emergency.

Ciao for now.