Predicting New York Giants' Biggest Roster Moves This Offseason

Changes are coming in New York: Not many Giants post back-to-back losing seasons and return to play or coach another season. After finishing 7-9 a year ago, the very best Big Blue can do this year is match last year's washout.

Last offseason, the offensive side of the ball was rebuilt. This spring, I think the opposite platoon is due for an overhaul.

In the slides ahead, see what roster moves I've predicted specifically for New York's defense when the 2014 season comes to a merciful end.

Jason Pierre-Paul and Antrel Rolle Will Be Re-Signed

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The Giants have two really tough decisions to make regarding defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul and safety Antrel Rolle. Both players will reach the end of their contracts next March, and New York will need to shell out some cash to keep them in town.

Pierre-Paul is doing his best Justin Tuck impression, racking up sacks in the 11th hour of a contract year. He has 10.5 to date, but seven of them have come in the last four games with the Giants eliminated from the playoffs.

JPP's nickname alone will command a megadeal. If the Giants aren't willing to pay up, someone else will. The only leverage New York has against this is the franchise tag. The Giants could use the special stipulation temporarily to help negotiate a long-term contract.

Ultimately, Pierre-Paul is probably deserving of the big bucks. Yes, he suffered through back-to-back seasons in pain, recording only 8.5 sacks in the process. The eyeball test, however, tells us he's the most dominant defender on the field.

Don't believe me? Ask yourself why he's never on the sideline. He has 72 tackles this season, the same total as Houston's J.J. Watt. The only defensive lineman in the NFL with more stops is Atlanta's Kroy Biermann, who has 73. Also, no Giant has registered more tackles for a loss in 2014 than JPP's 13.

This is one first-round pick New York should take care of.

Rolle will be on the team next year, too. Although he's not had his best season, particularly as of late, Rolle is still the best player in New York's secondary. You read that right: better than Prince Amukamara, better than Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.

The defensive captain won't be as expensive to retain as Pierre-Paul, either. He just turned 32 and is finishing up his 10th NFL season. Aside from three early-season interceptions, Rolle hasn't done much to boost his stock in free agency this season. If the Giants choose to retain him, the contract agreement shouldn't break the bank.

Rolle's veteran leadership is more valuable to the Giants than his aging body would be to one of the league's other 31 teams.

Stevie Brown and Jacquian Williams Will Walk

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Safety Stevie Brown and linebacker Jacquian Williams won't be as lucky as their teammates on the previous slide. Like Pierre-Paul and Rolle, Brown and Williams have contracts that are about to expire. The difference is these ones are unlikely to be renewed in March.

Brown rebounded poorly from a torn ACL, which sidelined him throughout the 2013 season. He set an impossible standard for himself in 2012, intercepting eight passes and forcing two fumbles in his first year as a starter. No one expected him to replicate that production, especially after missing an entire season.

But Brown didn't even come remotely close in 2014. He hasn't been responsible for a single takeaway. For the most part, Brown has been outplayed by Quintin Demps, who quietly leads the team with four interceptions. And it's not like Demps is the second coming of Emlen Tunnell. 

It'll be impressive to see Brown complete a full, 16-game season after such a serious injury, but his comeback just isn't worthy of a victory lap in 2015.

As for Williams, he's a project that never fully panned out. Sort of like an oversized safety trying to play linebacker, Williams never looked totally comfortable in the position New York had him. That could have something to do with his extensive injury history.

The Giants tried mightily to make Williams an every-down linebacker on the weak side before he landed on injured reserve this year, but he was never tough enough against the run.

He is more properly built to specialize in pass coverage. Rookie Devon Kennard is a better example of what New York should be fielding at outside linebacker.

Williams has never started more than nine games in a given season, and it'd be nothing short of shocking to see him get another chance to do so as a member of the Giants.

Cullen Jenkins and Mathias Kiwanuka Will Be Cut

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A couple veterans are going to have to be let go prematurely. Although their contracts are not set to expire this March, the Giants will have to cut ties with defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins and defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. There's just no way they can justify paying these two the money they're due in 2015.

Jenkins will be 34 years old in January. The Giants may have milked the longtime Packer for his last productive season in 2013, when he played a full season and collected five sacks. The interior pass-rushing specialist had the ability to kick outside and play end when healthy and in his athletic prime.

However, Jenkins' sharp decline in production (one sack, eight tackles) during an injury-dampened 11 games so far this season could be a sign that his days as an effective NFL D-lineman are up. The Giants can save north of $2 million by dumping this 11th-year vet after the season.

Second-year tackle Johnathan Hankins has exceeded Linval Joseph's impact in the middle; rookie defensive tackle Jay Bromley, a third-round selection in the 2014 draft, will need to step into Jenkins' role next year.

Kiwanuka is one of the last remaining members of the 2007 Super Bowl squad and the only one remaining on defense (Eli Manning and long snapper Zak DeOssie are the others).

It'll be tough to cut Kiwi after all he's given to the Giants franchise over the last nine years, but it wouldn't be unprecedented to do so. Ahmad Bradshaw experienced the same fate following the 2012 season.

He is due nearly $7.5 million next season. That'd be next to highway robbery if all Kiwanuka can muster is another measly 2.5 sacks in 2015. 

By making these two cuts, the Giants could save money to put toward one good defensive lineman in free agency. Detroit's Ndamukong Suh will be a free agent this spring and has expressed interest in playing in New York, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Just saying...

Perry Fewell Will Be Replaced

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The Giants needed a scapegoat after last season, so offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride took the fall. They're going to need another one after this season, and next in line is defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.

If they need a third after 2015, that's when I'll predict the firing/retirement of head coach Tom Coughlin.

Fewell's defense has improved with the rest of the team at the end of this season, but it may be too late for the ingenious coordinator.

There hasn't been a NASCAR package or a three-safety look to save his 2014 unit; New York's defense currently ranks 28th in the NFL. Fewell is one spiteful Chip Kelly explosion away from surrendering 6,000 total yards for the third time in four years.

It's no help that Fewell's personnel is often plagued by injury. Yet he's still to blame, since his schemes are never conducive to adaptation. They're too complex, so in the middle of season, Fewell's always simplifying (and simplifying...and simplifying...) to better suit his battered unit.

The offensive coordinator New York hired to replace Gilbride came out of the blue, as former Giants assistant Mike Sullivan (WR coach 2004-09, QB coach 2010-11), now with the Buccaneers, made much more sense than Ben McAdoo at the time.

The potential hunt for a new defensive coordinator may travel down a similar path. If that's the case, maybe the Giants pick a defensive assistant from one of the NFC West teams.

Or, get this: Imagine the New York Jets fire their head coach, Rex Ryan, who then decides to stay in town and coordinate the Giants defense.

With that, I leave you.

*All statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com; all contract information courtesy of Spotrac.com.

Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants at Bleacher Report.