Giants released the quarterback Freeman on Friday

The New York Giants released the quarterback Freeman on Friday, five weeks after signing him.

Freeman's stock has plummeted since the beginning of last season, when he was Tampa Bay's starting quarterback. He was benched and then cut by the Buccaneers, signed with Minnesota and started one game. That was in a lopsided loss to the Giants when he appeared unprepared for the assignment, going 20 of 53 for 190 yards with an interception.

New York signed him as its 15th veteran free agent in the offseason, adding Freeman to the roster in part because starting quarterback Eli Manning and backup Curtis Painter had undergone surgery.

But Manning was back at practice this week, Painter is expected back before training camp, and second-year QB Ryan Nassib will get a long look for the second-string job behind Manning.

So Freeman was expendable, and his work in recent organized team activities was not impressive enough for the Giants to keep him.

Freeman went 0-3 as a starter in 2013 with the Buccaneers before being cut on Oct. 3. He signed with the Vikings five days later, but other than his start against the Giants, he was a nonfactor in Minnesota.

He was the Buccaneers' first-round draft pick in 2009 out of Kansas State. He became a starter in November of that year and started 60 games for Tampa Bay.

The Giants also were awarded offensive lineman Rogers Gaines off waivers from the Bears.

Gaines, 6-foot-6 and 334 pounds, entered the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in May 2013. He played in all four preseason games for Baltimore last summer but was waived on Aug. 30. Gaines signed on with Chicago's practice squad on Sept. 24 and spent the rest of the season there.

(Quote:Eli Manning -- Elisha Nelson "Eli" Manning (born January 3, 1981) is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) and is the active iron man for consecutive starts by a quarterback. He is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the younger brother of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning. Manning played college football at the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) after attending prep school at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans. He was drafted as the first overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers and immediately traded to the New York Giants, who in return gave up a package highlighted by fourth overall selection Philip Rivers.

Manning holds Giants franchise records for most passing yards, touchdown passes and completed passes in a career,and the NFL record for most fourth-quarter touchdown passes in a season. He led the Giants to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI, defeating the New England Patriots in both games. Manning was also named Most Valuable Player in each Super Bowl, becoming one of five quarterbacks in history to have been given this honor twice. He is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for more than 4,900 yards and win the Super Bowl in the same season.)