NFL free agency doesn't begin for about six more hours, but teams can still sign their own free agents before then, and the New York Giants have reached an agreement with one of theirs. Adam Schefter reports that the Giants have agreed on a new contract with free-agent cornerback Terrell Thomas, who missed the entire 2011 season due to an ACL injury suffered in a preseason game.

It was an important signing for the Giants as they head into free agency very close to the salary cap. Cornerback Aaron Ross is also a free agent, but since he's healthy and coming off a good year, Ross was always more likely to get more on the open market than Thomas was. Assuming Thomas can come back healthy, Corey Webster can continue to play the way he played this past year and 2011 first-round pick Prince Amukamara can step up his performance in his second year, the Giants are positioned to weather the loss of Ross via free agency. That's not to say they won't make an effort to bring back Ross, but it's not going to be easy, and since Thomas was always likely to be cheaper, they felt it was important to make sure and keep him off the market.