According to published reports, Sammy Knight is officially a Giant.

Mike Garafolo of the Star-Ledger says the contract is a three-year, $5.15 million dollar deal including a $1.25 million signing bonus.

The Giants are, as you would expect, saying they are thrilled to have Knight.

“We’re excited to have a veteran of Sammy’s caliber joining our secondary,” GM Jerry Reese said in the team’s release. “We were attracted to how smart he plays and how productive and physical he plays. We think he will thrive in our defensive schemes. He brings a lot of leadership to the team, especially to the secondary, and he is a real pro.”

Knight spent last season playing for the Jaguars. So, here’s the lowdown on the 11-year veteran from Chris, the fine Jacksonsville blogger for Big Cat Country.

Jacksonville began the 2007 season with a bit of a problem at Strong Safety. We released Donovin Darius who was just not himself after an injury the previous season and Gerald Sensabaugh was injured and out for the year. We signed Sammy Knight in a very desperate move to shore up that position and really didn’t expect much out of him. That said, he was our leading tackler and did a pretty good job filling in. He has his weaknesses, for example, covering a tight end will give him fits. While most safeties have trouble with guys like Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates, Sammy couldn’t cover them at all, exposing the Jaguars to all kinds of underneath passing. He’s a sure tackler, though, once he gets there and he can still deliver a pretty strong hit. He’s compensating for his decreasing speed through his football knowledge, but he can still get smoked by a smart TE. Sammy was targeted by just about every offense that Jacksonville played because it’s clear he’s a weakness in the pass defense.

That said, I wish the Jaguars would re-sign him, just for the depth. He’s still got some “gas in the tank”, but I wouldn’t want him to be our only option.

There you have it, Giants’ fans. Knight sounds like the prototypical “stop-gap” type. A low-priced veteran who can fill in until Michael Johnson or whatever safety the Giants draft (I would be stunned if they don’t take one early) is ready to take over.

(– Read more of Ed Valentine’s Giants’ coverage at Big Blue View.)