Dan Graziano of ESPN.com discussed one of the biggest issues facing the Giants this offseason: what to do with DE Jason Pierre-Paul.
Ideally, the Giants would not have to think twice about extending Pierre-Paul, but he’s now two injury plagued seasons removed from his 16.5 sack-season that ended in a Giants Super Bowl Championship. The reality is, however, that the Giants may be best served by waiting out the final year of Pierre-Paul’s deal before deciding whether or not lock him up long-term.
“At this point, the right plan for both sides is probably to play out the 2014 season and talk about a new deal once it’s over,” Graziano writes.
Back surgery and a mid-season shoulder injury kept Pierre-Paul out for much of last season, and severely limited his effectiveness when he was in the lineup. He registered just two sacks in 11 games this season.
The Giants will undoubtedly want Pierre-Paul to prove he can get back to his 2011 form before making a decision on his future. In the interim, Graziano mentions that Pierre-Paul’s situation will likely be impacted by what New York does with its other defensive ends.
Justin Tuck is a free agent and Mathias Kiwanuka has a cap number in excess of $7 million for the next two seasons making him a potential cap casualty. Damontre Moore did not make much of an impact in his rookie season.
Pierre-Paul signed a five-year $20.05 million contract in 2010 and will count just over $4.6 million against the cap for the upcoming season.
The Giants currently projected to have just over $13 million in estimated cap space for the 2014 season, according to Overthecap.com, but that can of course chance in the coming weeks.
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