The New York Giants announced Wednesday that they have signed backup running back D.J. Ware to a contract extension.
The team didn't reveal terms, but the *New York Daily News* cited a source in reporting that the deal is for two years and worth approximately $2 million with incentives and bonuses tied to playing time.
Ware is a four-year pro who played in 14 games last season and had a team-high 20.6-yard average on 21 kickoff returns. Ware rushed for 73 yards on a career-high 30 attempts. He also had seven receptions for 67 yards.
*The Star-Ledger* reported Wednesday that wideout/return man Domenik Hixon has reached agreement on an undisclosed contract, citing Hixon's Facebook page.
"God answers PRAYERS! My agent and I have been negotiating with the Giants and it looks like we have came to terms!" Hixon wrote, according to the newspaper. "Going to sign the papers in the a.m. (Thursday) and make this thing official!"
Hixon missed all of last season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during the team's first practice at New Meadowlands Stadium in June. The five-year pro was scheduled to be a restricted free agent under the guidelines of the current collective bargaining agreement, set to expire Thursday night.
Hixon's fellow wideout Steve Smith, one of seven players to whom the Giants recently gave qualifying offers, told the *New York Post* he's confident the Giants will reward him with a long-term contract despite his injury-filled 2010 season.
"I know it's different now, I know it will be a little more difficult now depending on how I come back from this injury, how I look," Smith said. "I think the Giants are going to reward me with a contract this year. They told me that."
Smith, also a four-year pro, set a franchise record with 107 receptions during the 2009 season, when he also was selected to the Pro Bowl. Last season, he suffered a partially torn pectoral muscle, missed four games, returned for one, then tore cartilage in his left knee. He finished with 48 catches for 529 yards and three touchdowns in nine games.
