NFL

Giants take look at former Cowboys LB Connor

The search for linebackers continues Saturday for the Giants, as they bring in Dan Connor, the former Panther and Cowboy, for a visit.

Connor, 27, refused to take a pay cut earlier this offseason and on Monday was released by the Cowboys, saving them $3 million on the salary cap. He’s a five-year NFL veteran from Penn State who spent his first four seasons with the Panthers.

He didn’t make much of an impact in 2012 with the Cowboys, starting eight games and moving in when fellow Penn State product Sean Lee was lost for the season with a toe injury. Connor moved into the lineup against the Giants on Oct. 28 and contributed only one solo tackle in a 29-24 Giants victory at Cowboys Stadium. He suffered a neck stinger in that game and missed the next two contests.

Connor previously has visited with the Raiders, and the Steelers have also expressed interest.

Connor is accustomed to playing in the middle, which is where the Giants are looking for help. They brought in Jasper Brinkley, a natural middle linebacker, for a visit but he signed with the Cardinals. Last year’s starting middle linebacker, Chase Blackburn, is an unrestricted free agent and shopping for more of a commitment than the Giants are offering. The Cowboys have expressed some interest in Blackburn and now the Giants are going to take a look at Connor.

On Thursday, the Giants re-signed outside linebacker Keith Rivers, who admitted his inability to stay on the field makes it difficult to trust him.

“Anytime you step on the field you have something to prove — me, more so,” Rivers said. “Obviously, I have to prove I can stay healthy. I haven’t necessarily been able to be trusted to stay healthy. Hopefully, taking a big rest this offseason will help me do that.”

Rivers brought with him from Cincinnati a reputation for being injury-prone, and last season played in only 11 games with the Giants — starting six — because of lingering hamstring issues.

“It was tough,” Rivers, 27, said of his first year with the Giants. “I think I may have over-trained due to being out. I was a little overzealous. I worked out way too hard. It’s very frustrating and very stressful.’’

In order to help get his body ready for the rigors of the season, Rivers, 27, said he is cutting back on his weightlifting, replacing the it with cardio work and yoga.

* The Giants will lose some depth in their receivers corps, as Ramses Barden and Domenik Hixon are unrestricted free agents and it’s likely neither will return, with Hixon more likely to stay than Barden. As a result, Louis Murphy visited Friday and left without a contract.

Murphy, 25, is a four-year NFL veteran who is extremely fast, but not very productive. AHe was a 2009 fourth-round draft pick of the Raiders out of Florida and showed some promise as a rookie with 34 catches for 521 yards and four touchdowns. He hasn’t done much since; after three years with the Raiders, the 6-foot-2, 200-pound Murphy played last season with the Panthers and had 25 receptions for 336 yards and one touchdown.

* Safety Kenny Phillips met the media in Philadelphia and said his knee is fine and he’s 100 percent healthy. He has no hard feelings about leaving the Giants after five seasons.

“It’s definitely weird,’’ Phillips said. “But at this point I can’t say I hate the Giants. When I was with the Giants I kind of disliked the Eagles. But I can’t just say right now I hate the Giants. I guess I’ll have to learn to hate them.’’