One of the several additions that the New York Giants made in NFL free agency earlier this offseason was veteran running back Jonathan Stewart on a two-year, $6.8 million deal.

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It has put Stewart in an intriguing position of being the mentor to rookie running back Saquon Barkley, who was taken with the second overall pick in this year's draft. According to Matt Lombardo of NJ.com, the 31-year-old has appeared to be more trying to hang on to being on the roster at this point.

It is entirely fair to question how much Jonathan Stewart has left in the tank, after he averaged a career-low 3.4 yards per carry with the Carolina Panthers last season. Nevertheless, general manager Dave Gettleman and the Giants signed Stewart to a two-year $6.8 million deal that includes $3.45 million guaranteed. This spring, Stewart looked more like a plodding veteran running back trying to hang on, than a back capable of shouldering a significant workload. If nothing else, Stewart should provide steady veteran leadership in a locker room that is in desperate need of it.

Although there is that perception of Stewart at this point of his career, he has shown throughout the years that he has been a dependable option out of the backfield in any capacity. In his first 10 campaigns with the Carolina Panthers, he had  51 career rushing touchdowns with 7,318 rushing yards. This includes tallying more than 650 rushing yards in all but one campaign of his career.

Stewart is also coming off a productive season where he had 680 rushing yards with six touchdowns while playing in 15 games with 10 starts. There may not be the game-changing talent, but he has proven to be a stable option in the running game in his career, and that will come into play with the Giants. He may not see the field as much as initially anticipated, but there is a chance for him to help form a formidable duo alongside Barkley next season.

This next chapter of his career could see him transition to be more of a mentor and guiding along the Giants rookie more so than his on-the-field production. Nonetheless, it is a unique opportunity at this stage of his career.