Knowing when to drop into pass coverage and when to jump a run isn’t Deone Bucannon’s only tricky balancing act.
He also wants to carry the big chip on his shoulder without turning any new teammates into collateral damage.
Bucannon signed Tuesday with the Giants and is expected to quickly compete for a starting inside linebacker position in the 3-4 base defense and provide much-needed relief in the nickel package. The Giants had safety Jabrill Peppers moving around to pick up slack.
It’s a lot to be asked of a player who was out of the NFL for two weeks after managing three tackles in five games for the Buccanneers. Because of NFL rules, the Buccaneers might be in line to gain a compensatory NFL Draft pick in 2020 by releasing Bucannon when they did.
“I’m the same player I was when I was a rookie,” Bucannon said. “When I get on the field, I know what I can do. People know what I can do. It’s about me being on the field, or whatever my role is. Whether it’s a little bit or a lot of bit, I’m going to make some plays.”
Bucannon blames his disappointing start on a lack of opportunity behind Lavonte David, Kevin Minter and first-round pick Devin White.
That certainly won’t be the case with the Giants, whose inside linebacker depth chart has been a mess all season, with the trade of B.J. Goodson, injuries to Ryan Connelly (season ending), Alec Ogletree and Tae Davis, and the shuttling of Nate Stupar.
“I’ll roll with the game plan,” Bucannon said. “I’m not here to ruffle any feathers. Like a puzzle piece, I’m here to fit in. … I’m going to flow in like water.”
Bucannon, who describes himself as a “playmaker” and an “athlete,” is supposed to be sparkling water, however.
The former safety totaled 285 tackles, four sacks and 10 passes defended in three years playing the “moneybacker” position – a hybrid linebacker who can match up with tight ends and running backs – under Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher when they were together with Cardinals from 2015-17.
“That’s why he’s here,” coach Pat Shurmur said. “We feel like he’ll understand where he fits on the run, and then he has the ability to cover.”
Bucannon is reunited with three other former Cardinals on the Giants defense — starters Antoine Bethea and Markus Golden, and Olsen Pierre.
“There’s some (scheme) similarity,” Bethea said. “Obviously it depends on how much stuff he remembers and how quick he can get the terminology and things of that nature.”
As was the case last week when the Giants signed veteran running back Buck Allen after trying to sneak by without injured Saquon Barkley and Wayne Gallman, the biggest question with Bucannon’s addition is: What took so long to address an obvious need?
Shurmur shrugged off a question on the timing, but Bucannon, who picked the Buccaneers over the interested Giants in offseason free agency, is raring to go.
He also had familiarity with head coach Bruce Arians and defensive coordinator Todd Bowles in Tampa Bay.
“This is where I was meant to be,” he said. “I’ve only played in this (defensive) system. It’s a system that works.”
For more on the Giants heading into the trade deadline, listen to this episode of the Giants podcast, “Blue Rush”:
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