The New York Giants are facing some very difficult decisions in free agency as the offseason rolls on. The Giants may lose most of their edge rushers in free agency, and this would cripple their pass rush. The G-men will have four defensive ends hitting free agency along with two defensive tackles which should completely change the chemistry of this defensive unit. Jason Pierre-Paul's injury has really put the Giants in a tough position because there is so much uncertainty as to what he could potentially do and what his limitations are.
Losing Cullen Jenkins, George Selvie, Barry Cofield and Markus Kuhn would likely be seen as a dramatic hit to the Giants' depth along the defensive line, but not something that should impact the starting unit. Losing Robert Ayers, the opposite starter to JPP, would be absolutely devastating. Ayers has been a reliable player but had what could have been his best season in the NFL in 2015. Ayers recorded 9.5 sacks and two forced fumbles last season, and this makes him a relatively enticing free agent. So where is the silver lining in all of this? New York is currently ranked third in terms of NFL salary cap space. With $57 million to spend, the Giants could either re-sign a large portion of their players or go after several high-priced free agents.
Mario Williams would be an intriguing option especially, if you pair him with an edge rusher the Giants could land with the 10th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Rebuilding this pass rush is the only way Big Blue will once again compete for a playoff spot, and it could start that process in free agency. The main question is would Williams come to New York? Williams has two former teams, the Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills, and both states have two other football teams that could be involved in courting the veteran pass rusher. New York will of course be a big step up from Buffalo in terms of the nightlife and culture, but it may not be any closer to winning a Super Bowl. Williams will need to decide how exactly he would like to spend the rest of his career so how competitive a team is and how much he would like to live in that market would surely factor into his decision.
