Art Stapleton

Staff Writer, @art_stapleton

The Giants did not open free agency Thursday with the sizzle of last season’s $200 million splurge, as expected.

One day after making a bit of a splash by bringing Brandon Marshall into the fold, Big Blue ended up with more of a thud — well, someone known for delivering one.

Former Vikings fullback/tight end hybrid Rhett Ellison, a thumper whose specialty is as a blocker, is joining an offense desperate for more blocking across the board.

Ellison and the Giants have reached agreement on a four-year deal worth up to $18 million with $8 million guaranteed at signing, according to a league source familiar with the deal.

The Giants are not expected to confirm the signing until Ellison, 28, completes his physical.

With the market for offensive linemen soaring, tackles in particular, the Giants decided having Ellison line up alongside their tackles for the price paid to him was a better investment than those linemen who secured lucrative deals Thursday.

Andrew Whitworth went to the Rams for $13 million per season. Russell Okung and Matt Kalil each received $25 million guaranteed from the Chargers and Panthers, respectively. So as much as the Giants would like to add to their unit up front offensively, bringing tackles in to compete with Ereck Flowers at left tackle and Bobby Hart on the right side, team brass determined early on they would not be players at the top of the market.

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Part of that is due to the fifth-lowest total of salary cap space available in the league — an estimated $8 million after the Marshall signing. The Giants also have $16.9 million currently set aside for defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul, who has been assigned the franchise tag.

The Giants and Pierre-Paul’s representatives are hoping to reach a long-term agreement at some point, which would lower his salary and cap hit for 2017, but no deal is imminent.

That could change at any time, of course, especially with Giants co-owner and team President John Mara indicating last week that would be his preference. Until then, though, the Giants will have to do some maneuvering cap-wise to make desired moves. As of Thursday night, there had been no reported movement in the defensive tackle market, which the Giants are monitoring with the hope that 2013 second-round draft pick Johnathan Hankins could be retained.

The Giants’ signing of Marshall was lauded around the league, and when the official contract details were revealed Thursday, his arrival looked even better. His deal ended up being a two-year, $11 million deal that includes a $2 million signing bonus, plus $1 million in incentives to push the potential total package to $12 million. The cap hit for the Giants in 2017 is $4.5 million.

The Giants also re-signed running back Orleans Darkwa to a one-year deal Thursday before the start of free agency. The signing of Ellison should help upgrade the running game, which is a priority this off-season.

His presence still leaves open the possibility that the Giants can draft a tight end as a downfield threat come April, with expected first-rounders O.J. Howard and David Njoku of Cedar Grove projected at the top of a class considered one of the deepest in league history.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Ellison is a five-year veteran who caught just nine passes for 57 yards last season, but he is an accomplished blocker both in-line and out of the backfield. He will likely be used in the role envisioned last season for Will Johnson, who was signed as a free agent from the Steelers. Johnson spent last season on injured reserve after sustaining a burner and has another year remaining on his contract. He will also compete for a spot if healthy.

Asked during last week’s scouting combine if the Giants would look to add a fullback after spending an entire season without one, Ben McAdoo said: “It just really depends on how things shake out, whether it’s the free agency market or it’s the draft class, it depends on what you have to choose from. The guys on our roster going into the season, we had two players that we felt pretty good about playing fullback for us, and neither of them stayed healthy [Johnson and Nikita Whitlock] and that was a part of it.”