Free-agent linebacker Keith Bulluck officially joined the New York Giants on Saturday, after nailing a private workout Monday in the oppressive Meadowlands heat.

But he unofficially joined them in March in the cold Manhattan rain.

Coming off ACL surgery just seven months ago, with no team to supervise his recovery, Bulluck spent most of his spring rehabbing in New York. In the process, he fell back in love with the city of his youth -- and signed Saturday with the Giants, making it the city of his immediate future.

Bulluck's one-year deal is worth about $2.5 million with incentives, a league source told ESPNNewYork.com's Ohm Youngmisuk.

"Just walking the streets of New York gave me my edge back," said Bulluck, 33, a former Pro Bowl player who has spent his 10 NFL seasons with the Tennessee Titans. "Some of those walks were tough, man. Like when it's raining or sleeting or it's just cold out. And your knee aches. I wasn't 100 percent at the time.

"But the energy of it all helped me," Bulluck added. "Just the people, the good attitudes, the bad attitudes, just the whole vibe of the metropolitan area. If you're from there or have ever been there, you definitely know what I'm talking about. I'd have to say this is a dream come true."

Bulluck visited with the Arizona Cardinals after his visit with the Giants this week but it didn't take him long to make up his mind on where to play this season.

"He was pretty geeked up about both places," Gary Wichard, Bulluck's agent, said by telephone on Saturday. "Next day he calls me up and he says, 'I've been dreaming about this my whole life. I'm from New York. It's not even close.' It was his dream to play for the Giants. He grew up in New City. Like all kids his age, LT [Lawrence Taylor] was what it is about."

A native of New City, New York -- about 20 miles from the Meadowlands -- Bulluck fills a huge need for the Giants, who released middle linebacker Antonio Pierce in February and were trying to replace him with Jonathan Goff and Chase Blackburn.

But the Giants also fill a huge need for Bulluck, who'd been twisting in the wind ever since he blew out his left knee Dec. 20 -- two weeks before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

"It's just hard when you're a free agent with an injury," he said. "You kind of feel like after all you've done, you're being abandoned."

Bulluck had 108 tackles last season in 14 games before suffering his knee injury. Bulluck had started 127 straight games prior to the injury.

Wichard said Bulluck's knee isn't an issue.

"He is seven months post-operation, he is ready to go," Wichard said. "He didn't want to visit or meet anybody until he could work out for them."

Following the 2009 season, Bulluck was only allowed to rehab at the Titans facility through Feb. 28 -- because, as of March 1, he was no longer a member of the organization. And he left town miffed, because management seemed ambivalent about re-signing him.