Steve Smith: Why the New York Giants Should Not Welcome the Receiver Back

Last offseason, Steve Smith was a free agent. He was coming off of a 2010-11 campaign where he only played nine games and had to undergo the dreaded microfracture surgery on his knee, this coming only a year after he set the New York Giants' franchise record in receptions with 107.

Debate raged on about whether or not the Giants should bring Smith back, as he is a receiver who relies on making swift cuts to get open in the middle of the field or on the sidelines—something that you obviously need strong knees to execute effectively.

I'm sure Giants fans know the rest of the story. Smith ultimately ended up signing a one-year deal with the hated Philadelphia Eagles, this coming not so long after he posted on his Twitter page a picture of him celebrating New York's Super Bowl victory next to an image of an empty Eagles trophy case.

Calling him Benedict Arnold may have been putting it lightly, especially considering that John Mara announced that the Giants actually offered Smith a five-year, $35 million contract extension the year before, although Smith vehemently denied this (and why wouldn't he?).

Whether or not the rumored extension was true, Smith still did not give New York a chance to match the one-year deal Philadelphia offered him, and before you knew it, he was on the other side of one of the biggest rivalries in the sport.

What did Smith proceed to do this season? Nothing much, really. He recorded only 11 catches for 124 yards and a lone touchdown—the touchdown actually coming against the Giants in the teams' second meeting of the season. Ironically, in the first meeting between the two teams, Smith bobbled a pass and, as a result, the ball was intercepted—something that Big Blue fans were all too familiar with during Smith's tenure in New York. 

During the middle of this past season, Smith voiced that he actually missed playing for the Giants and that he wanted to come back. Yes, during the middle of the season while he was still a member of the Eagles and while games were still being played.

Now, Smith is a free agent, and all indications are that he will not be back with Philly. As a matter of fact, ESPN's Adam Schefter recently said on NFL32 that he expects Smith to return to the G-Men, as it does not look like New York is going to re-sign Mario Manningham, obviously opening up the need for a No. 3 receiver.

The question is, should the Giants want him back?

The answer? Absolutely not, and for a few reasons.

First of all, we don't know healthy Smith's knee is, nor do we know whether or not his knee will ever truly be the same again. For a receiver who makes a living off of making quick, short moves to free himself from defenders, that is certainly a huge red flag, as one awkward cut could spell the end of his career for good.

Second of all, New York can certainly look elsewhere to replace Manningham, and the replacement may very well be on Big Blue's own roster. The Giants selected Jerrel Jernigan in the third round of the draft last year. The kid is very talented, and New York expects him to contribute sometime down the road, so why not now?

Jernigan is not the only potential substitute, either. New York also has Ramses Barden and Devin Thomas, and it just re-signed Domenik Hixon, although the latter is coming off back-to-back ACL tears, so one obviously has to wonder how effective he will actually be.

If the Giants feel that Jernigan is still a year or so away and if they would prefer to utilize players such as Barden and Thomas on special teams and as No. 4 receivers, then they can easily look to the draft or examine the other free agent wide receivers out there (Robert Meachem could be a potential fit).

The third and final reason why the G-Men should not welcome Smith back is for sentimental purposes: he signed with the Eagles. Plain and simple.

It may sound like a silly reason not to reopen your doors for someone, but let's face it: we are talking about the Steve Smith who underwent microfracture surgery just over a year ago; not the Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers.  

If I am in Jerry Reese's shoes, I am not even giving the former Giant the time of day. He should instead peruse his multitude of capable alternatives, because this Smith isn't good enough to forgive.