The NY Giants have some major names hitting the market this year, as Jason Pierre-Paul, Antrel Rolle, Walter Thurmond and Mike Patterson are free agents for Jerry Reese and this comes as names like Mark Ingram, Shane Vereen, Frank Gore, CJ Spiller and Bryan Bulaga could be potential targets to join up in New York for the 2015 season.
The team has some cap money to spend with about $20 million in space and potentially more if they cut some players like Jon Beason or Mathias Kiwanuka. According to ESPN.com, the team is going to try hard to keep JPP and Antrel Rolle, while they also would be interested in Thurmond returning. Dan Graziano at ESPN.com mentioned Bryan Bulaga as well as Gore, Mark Ingram, Shane Vereen, CJ Spiller and Ryan Mathews as potential targets for the Giants, as they struggled rushing the ball last season.
Dan Graziano at ESPN.com writes that Kiwanuka is the most likely player to get cut this offseason, as he is getting paid nearly $5 million and has not played up to expectations. Keeping Pierre-Paul is a priority for the Giants, but they may not break the bank to sign him. According to ESPN New York, owner John Mara said that the team would consider using the franchise tag on JPP if they can't work out a long term deal.
The Giants also have the chance to work on an Eli Manning extension since he is coming into the final year of his contract and that could also give the team cap space. Manning has one year left on his deal and has a cap number near $20 million and if he gets that down a bit it would give the Giants some flexibility moving forward.
This season ended up being a significant one for Eli Manning, as he had his worst season last year with 27 interceptions and 57 percent completion percentage. Manning bounced back and threw 30 TDs for the first time since 2010 and he had over 4400 yards, his highest total in four years. Manning had a bounce back season after throwing 27 interceptions in 2013 and he found a star in Odell Beckham Jr. The Giants are hoping to get Victor Cruz back healthy and they have a top 10 draft pick coming up this spring that could add another top prospect after taking Beckham last year.
The team may look at upgrading on the offensive line and Graziano mentioned Bulaga as a potential target. Rolle likely would have to come back with a pay cut and if he doesn't return, Big Blue View writes that the team could consider targeting Alabama safety Landon Collins with their top 10 pick in the NFL draft. The Giants are coming off of a 6-10 season and they missed the playoffs for the third straight season after winning the Super Bowl.
The Giants defense was inconsistent this season and that is why they replaced coordinator Perry Fewell with Steve Spagnuolo. Fewell won a Super Bowl with the team, but the defense has not played up to expectations over the past few years and that forced Tom Coughlin to make a change. Spagnuolo returns for a second go around with the Giants and this comes after he helped the team defeat the 18-0 Giants in the Super Bowl.