The NY Giants are heading into the offseason with a number of question on both offense and defense and at the start of free agency, general manager Jerry Reese is looking at players like Alterraun Verner, Arthur Jones, Ben Tate, James Jones and Julian Edelman, while New York stars like Hakeem Nicks, Justin Tuck and Linval Joseph could be moving on.
According to ESPN.com, the Giants have already started doing their leg work with free agents, with Reese calling in on both Verner and Jones when the deadline opened for speaking to players and agents. The report says that the Giants are likely going to look for replacements for Joseph and Tuck in case both end up leaving in free agency and with Jones being a Syracuse player, that makes him fit even more with the G-Men with their Tom Coughlin connection. Some of the top corners are already off the market with Brent Grimes and Sam Shields signing deals and Verner is expected to be the top defensive back on the market, as he has already had interest from the Jets and other teams.
Verner is 25 years old and is coming off a Pro Bowl season where he had five interceptions and while the Giants have a solid amount of cap space, Verner could cost up to $10 million per season and that could be out of their price range. The Giants have to decide how much they want to rely on Prince Amukamara next season and while he has developed nicely after being a first round pick, he may not be ready to be a number one corner in the league.
Jones could be an interesting option, as the Giants have a feeling that they are going to lose Linval Joseph and Jones could be a solid replacement for him in the defense. At 28 years old he should still have a couple more productive seasons in him and with Joseph expected to be sought after on the market, this would give the Giants a way to protect that loss.
The Giants were terrible on the offensive line last season and that will be an area of focus in the draft and free agency and the G-Men are also allowing both Nicks and Tuck to hit the market and both of those players could be gone as well. Nicks reportedly could be open to taking a one year deal, but all signs point to it not being with the Giants and that comes after he did not score a touchdown this season. ESPN.com reported that Nicks has already expressed interest in the Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers and Carolina Panthers and teams like the Dolphins, Eagles and Raiders all could be in the mix as well.
The Giants are looking to boost their running game and they may need to add a receiver as well, with players like Ben Tate, Julian Edelman, Golden Tate and James Jones as potential options. Tuck had a strong season last year, but at his age he could be on his way out of town and now Reese has the chance to remake the team after a disappointing 2013 campaign.
