Giants DT Linval Joseph Likely To Test The Free Agent Market

On Friday, Giants impending free agent DT Linval Joseph mentioned via his Twitter account that he wants to be back with the Giants next season.

While it’s clearly a good sign that he prefers to remain in New York, there are some questions as to whether or not a contract extension is likely to be reached.

Dan Graziano of ESPN.com mentioned during his recent mailbag that it’s becoming “more and more evident that Joseph is determined to hit the market and find out how much he can get.”

Graziano adds that he hasn’t heard anything regarding the Giants working on an extension with Joseph, but still believes it would be a mistake for them to allow him to sign elsewhere.

As things stand right now, the Giants have veteran DT Cullen Jenkins to go along with Johnathan Hankins and Markus Kuhn on their roster, which means they could allow Joseph to walk to use that money elsewhere.

Joseph, 25, is coming off another strong season for the Giants defense and looks to be one of the best interior lineman available in free agency. In 2013, he totaled 59 tackles, three sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

We have Joseph currently listed as the No. 32 player in our Top 50 Free Agents list.