It didn’t take former Indianapolis backup QB Jim Sorgi long to find a new team.
Sorgi, the Colts’ top backup to Peyton Manning from 2004-2009, on Tuesday signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants, Mike Garafalo of the Newark Star-Ledger is reporting.
“The Giants signed Sorgi, 29, to a one-year deal after their doctors conversed with some other physicians who have examined Sorgi’s shoulder,” Garafolo writes. “Obviously, they got the answers they were looking for and the ones Sorgi’s agent said he was hoping to provide. The team doctor talked to (noted orthopedic surgeon) Dr. (James) Andrews.”
“He has a history with Jim,” Sorgi’s agent, Matt Brei, told Garafolo. “It was a matter of everybody getting comfortable, so we got the doctors in contact and everything was cleared. That’s where a little bit of the holdup was.”
Sorgi will compete for the backup to Manning’s brother, Eli, with Rhett Bomar, a fifth-round selection in the 2009 NFL Draft.
“Both are elite players,” Sorgi said of the Mannings in a Giants press release. “I had a great time working with Peyton, and I learned a lot, obviously. The experience was invaluable as far as my development as a professional. I hate to see my time in Indianapolis come to an end, but I am as excited about working with Eli as I am sad about leaving Peyton, and I look forward to working with Eli and helping him any way I can. I have been fortunate to work with Peyton, who has one of the greatest minds in the game.”
Sorgi ended last season on injured reserve with an injury to his right (throwing) elbow. “(Sorgi) cleared everything physically (with the Giants); it was just clearing up what happened last year and talking through it,” Brei told Garafalo. ”He didn’t fail any physical or anything like that.”
Garafalo also quoted Sorgi as saying, “I thought my workout was excellent and my shoulder felt great. I just need to continue to work on maintenance with it, but I want to be a player the Giants can count on to get the job done if need be. I am excited to be here.”
He also quoted Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin as saying, “Jim demonstrated in the meeting room with our coaches that he is very sharp and a very good student of the game, which you would expect after spending six years backing up Peyton. He is used to spending the amount of time that is necessary in preparation. He was involved in the study and preparation and everything that Peyton does, so he will be outstanding in the meeting room with Eli.”
IFR Analysis: This signing is less surprising than many might believe.
While Colts fans long have been skeptical about Sorgi’s ability, it’s just as true that Sorgi rarely had the opportunity to play with the Colts’ first-team receivers or line in the preseason or the regular season. But the biggest reason Sorgi got an opportunity so quickly likely is found in Coughlin’s quote — after six years with Peyton Manning, Sorgi evidently has developed into a guy with a very solid grasp of Xs and Os and with the ability to demonstrate that.
Manning throughout this past season talked several times of Sorgi’s value in the meeting room and in game planning, and that’s a big part of a backup’s role — particularly a backup on a team with a well-established starting quarterback. I was asked on a local radio show Tuesday why Sorgi didn’t try to go to a team where he could compete for a starting position.
The reason, one would imagine, is that the Giants were the team that clearly expressed serious interest quickly and when you’ve been a backup for six years and haven’t really gotten a chance to put much film out there showing what you can do you take an opportunity to make a roster when a team calls with obvious interest.
The guess here is that Sorgi will do well in New York. He has been in a very similar situation for five or six years, and considering the Giants moved so quickly to sign him, each side seems to be entering into it with a good idea of what they want from the relationship.
