Backup quarterback David Carr returns to Giants

PHOENIX -- David Carr is putting the back into backup.

The understudy to Eli Manning in four of the last five seasons will return to the Giants for 2013 after testing the free-agency market for a week. Carr, 33, had been hoping to find a team where he could compete for a starting job, but with that apparently unavailable, he agreed to terms with the Giants Tuesday on a one-year deal.

The Giants had expressed mild interest in quarterback Matt Hasselbeck when the Titans released him Monday. They also signed Curtis Painter this offseason.

Carr will compete with Painter for the backup job this summer, but given his experience in the team's offense and his ability to run an effective scout team -- particularly when he mimics running quarterbacks the Giants will face -- it would seem to be Carr's job to lose.

Of course it's not much of a job on Sundays. Carr once again will be playing behind Manning, who has not missed a regular-season start in 135 games, the NFL's longest current streak among quarterbacks. In his four seasons with the Giants, Carr appeared in 11 games and attempted just 61 passes. He won a Super Bowl ring in 2011 without ever stepping foot on the field.

That's just the way the Giants want their backup quarterback to be. Dependable. Experienced. And on the sideline.

Stevie Brown signs. Safety Stevie Brown signed his second-round tender offer from the Giants Tuesday. The deal for the restricted free agent is for $2.023 million in non-guaranteed base salary for 2013. Running back Andre Brown and wide receiver Victor Cruz, the Giants' other restricted free agents, have not signed their tenders.

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