The Giants cleared about $10 million of salary cap space on Monday with the releases of wide receiver Victor Cruz and running back Rashad Jennings, which may help them hold onto another member of their team.
Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is headed toward unrestricted free agency in March, leaving the team with a little less than a month of exclusive negotiating time for his return. Mike Garafolo of NFL Media reports that the team is expected to make a “legitimate run” at getting a deal done before free agency opens.
Getting Pierre-Paul signed would allow the team to move closer to realizing cornerback Janoris Jenkins’ hope of keeping the defense together for another season, but it would make for a heavy investment on a defensive line that saw defensive end Olivier Vernon and defensive tackle Damon Harrison come aboard with big price tags last offseason. Pierre-Paul is unlikely to get the same $17 million average that Vernon landed in his five-year deal, but something close could get the deal done before the new league year gets underway.
With needs on the offensive line and elsewhere on that side of the ball, the Giants may have other ideas for their new cap space but there’s enough money around to make signing Pierre-Paul a possibility.