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A week after being released by the Cowboys, James Washington is headed to their division rival. The New York Giants have signed the veteran receiver to their practice squad. The move comes ahead of the Giants' wild card showdown against the Minnesota Vikings, and Washington could be called up to join them for that game.

Washington, who was released by Dallas after the team signed T.Y. Hilton, spent the majority of the regular season on injured reserve after he broke his foot during training camp. Washington was signed by Dallas this past offseason. He appeared in just two games for the Cowboys after being activated on Dec. 10. 

Selected by the Steelers with the 60th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, Washington showed flashes of his potential in Pittsburgh, but found that targets within the Steelers' stacked receiving corps were tough to come by. His career-high in targets in Pittsburgh (44) came during the 2019 season, a year when Mason Rudolph -- Washington's college quarterback at Oklahoma State -- started more than half of the Steelers' games following Ben Roethlisberger's season-ending injury.

Despite the lack of targets, Washington caught 114 passes and 11 touchdowns during his four years in Pittsburgh. He averaged an impressive 14.3 yards per catch that included a career-high 16.7 yards per reception during the '19 season. He caught a career-high five touchdowns in 2020 while helping the Steelers capture the AFC North division title. 

A native of Stamford, Texas, Washington enjoyed a standout college career at Oklahoma State. During his four years with those Cowboys, the 6-foot receiver caught 226 passes for 4,472 yards and 39 touchdowns. He won the Biletnikoff Award (given annually to the best college receiver in Division I) in 2017 after catching 74 passes for 1,549 yards and 13 touchdowns. 

Washington will now look to contribute to a Giants offense that finished 26th in the NFL in passing yards during the regular season. New York will face a Vikings offense this weekend that was just 28th in the NFL in points allowed during the regular season.