New Giants WR credits former NFL MVP for rejuvenating career

New York Giants wide receiver Parris Campbell will always fondly remember playing alongside veteran quarterback Matt Ryan with the Indianapolis Colts last season. 

"Matt Ryan, to me, he helped me get back to a point in my career where I could say, 'Alright, I can go out here and play,'" Campbell told Giants beat writer Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News. "He boosted my confidence all last year. He stuck by me. He believed in me. Whenever I get a chance to talk to him I say, 'Bro, thank you. You rejuvenated my career.' Going through all the injuries, he was a solid foundation, he was a rock for me. I was able to go in the huddle and be like, 'When No. 2 is in the huddle, he’s got my back. So I gotta go out there and play for him.'" 

Numerous injury woes limited Campbell, a 2019 second-round draft pick, to just 15 regular-season games across his first three pro campaigns before the Atlanta Falcons traded Ryan to the Colts in March 2022. During what became his final season with Indianapolis, Campbell recorded 63 catches for 623 yards and three touchdowns over 17 contests. 

According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN, Campbell signed a one-year contract that could be worth up to $6.7M with $3M fully guaranteed to join the Giants in March. Ryan, meanwhile, is on track to work as an NFL analyst for CBS Sports during the upcoming season following his lackluster stint with the Colts. The 38-year-old seemingly hasn't completely closed the door on playing if a contender needs a fill-in option, but there's no indication any team is interested in his services ahead of training camp. 

Campbell made it known shortly after he put pen to paper on his latest NFL contract that he was getting together with Giants quarterback Daniel Jones for workouts ahead of organized team activities.

"I don’t want to come in and struggle with learning the offense, and then you get limited reps and you’re out there messing up," the 25-year-old told Leonard. "I just always want to be diligent about my work and how I go about preparing. I just think me having put the work and time in to get the plays down, whether that’s getting in extra reps with Daniel before OTAs started …We got a chance to work a lot."