As long as Tom Coughlin has been running the show, the Giants have gone with two quarterbacks on their roster — a credit to Eli Manning’s durability and Coughlin’s intense desire not to use up a valuable spot on a player who won’t get a uniform on game day.
But the NFL quarterback landscape is in a state of change and as a result the Giants, a source confirmed, next week will bring Pat White in for a visit.
White, 27, is best-known as a colossal NFL bust, a 2009 second-round pick (44th overall) of the Dolphins who lasted one ineffective season before he was jettisoned. But he is a superior athlete, a former record-setting option quarterback at West Virginia — he holds the NCAA mark for rushing yards by a quarterback — and that type of player can be found in Washington with Robert Griffin III and, presumably, in Philadelphia with Chip Kelly bringing his read-option offense from Oregon to the Eagles.
It seems unlikely the Giants would devote a roster spot to White, who while possibly proving to be very valuable running the scout-team offense to give the Giants defense a challenge in practice, would not be active on game days.
Also, the Giants re-signed David Carr, and Coughlin has gone out of his way to praise Carr’s ability to run the option in practice.
The Giants under offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride have shown no inclination to adopt any read-option principles.
Still, it doesn’t cost anything to give a look at White, who has previously worked out for the 49ers, a team that uses plenty of option with Colin Kaepernick.