Seahawks QB Lock signed as contingency plan

NEW YORK — One day after Saquon Barkley left for the Eagles, the Giants landed a quarterback who recently beat the Birds.

The Seattle Seahawks’ Drew Lock is signing a one-year deal with the Giants worth $5 million guaranteed, per NFL Network and ESPN reports.

Lock, 27, will be Daniel Jones’ new backup, and he also could be a contingency plan as an early season starter if Jones isn’t fully recovered from his torn right ACL.

“Strong arm, very athletic,” one NFL evaluator said of Lock’s strengths.

The Giants had a vacancy in their quarterback room because Tyrod Taylor left in free agency to sign with the Jets.

GM Joe Schoen and Jones both have said they expect the Giants’ QB to be ready for Week 1. But former NFL GM Michael Lombardi said Tuesday that the team’s recent interest in Russell Wilson was due to Jones being behind schedule in his recovery. That means Lock might play early.

“The Giants I think were interested because I’m not sure Daniel Jones is 100% healthy,” Lombardi said on The GM Shuffle podcast on The Draftkings Network. “It’s kind of behind schedule on that… But I think Russell probably knew that if Daniel Jones was healthy, (Wilson) wouldn’t be the starter there.”

Signing Lock has no bearing on the Giants’ plans to possibly draft a quarterback in late April, though. Schoen has said repeatedly this offseason that he would sign a veteran quarterback and also consider a QB in the NFL Draft, where the Giants hold the No. 6 overall pick.

The Giants’ search for veteran QB insurance started with a meeting with Wilson, who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They also showed interest in Jameis Winston, per CBS Sports, before he inked with the Cleveland Browns. But they now have Lock to learn and run the offense in the spring and compete in training camp, with Jones tracking as the eventual starter whenever he is healthy.