The NY Giants have been one of the most active teams in free agency this season and after losing Justin Tuck and Linval Joseph on the defensive line, they hosted free agent Robert Ayers for a visit and he could be an option for Jerry Reese along with Sidney Rice, Jermichael Finley, Fred Davis and Nate Burleson, while the general manager added another offensive lineman in Charles Brown from the Saints to shore things up in the trenches.
The Giants have made a point to reshape both the offensive and defensive lines this offseason and they have already added Geoff Schwartz and JD Walton before signing Brown. According to Pro Football Talk, Ayers could be the best option left on the market to replace Tuck after Jared Allen and Julius Peppers signed contracts and he is coming off of a career best season with the Denver Broncos in 2013. The team felt Tuck was too far past his prime and Ayers comes in as 28 years old after putting up 5.5 sacks last season and he appeared in 15 games and started three and he could add some solid depth for the Giants along with Damontre Moore and Jason Pierre-Paul.
The Giants are expecting a bounce back season from Pierre-Paul and they also need Moore and Jonathan Hankins to step up into expanded roles after coming in last season. The normally consistent pass rush for the team has been anything but that over the past couple years and they are hoping a stronger secondary will help that along, as a shutdown unit will keep the ball in the quarterback's hands for a longer amount of time. The team added Walter Thurmond, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Zack Bowman to the mix and they also signed back Trumaine McBride.
The offensive line needed a massive overhaul and the way the unit performed last year was one of the contributing reasons why Eli Manning had such a tough time in the offense. The team brought in Schwartz at guard and they drafted Justin Pugh last season, while Walton is coming back from an injury and they also signed guard John Jerry who can also play tackle. Chris Snee took a pay cut and the team is hoping Will Beatty can make a strong return from a broken leg and that should be able to boost the running game as well after the team signed Rashad Jennings to a free agent contract.
