Veterans the New York Giants Must Part with Before 2015 Season

Considering the New York Giants finished with a 6-10 record last year, it wouldn’t have been unrealistic to anticipate a bigger veteran-roster purge than what they had prior to the start of free agency.

Instead, the only notable moves the Giants made included releasing defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, OL J.D. Walton and running back Peyton Hillis.

That's not to say more moves might still be coming as the Giants continue to fill out their roster in the coming months. So let's look at some other veteran players whose hold on a roster spot might be shaky.

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CB Jayron Hosley

The Giants haven’t received much production out of cornerback Jayron Hosley, their third-round draft pick in 2012.

Part of that has been due to a combination of injuries and a four-game suspension at the start of last season.

Combine that with him being a healthy scratch for five games last year, and the Giants have only gotten 29 games, 57 tackles and one interception over three seasons from Hosley.

That the 5’10” 178-pound Hosley was a healthy scratch in so many games last year seems to be a telling statement about the confidence the coaches had in him considering injuries were ripping through the cornerbacks unit. 

Will Hosley be cut this year? It’s very possible that the front office is hoping that he finally takes that next step forward in defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s system the same way that cornerback Corey Webster did in 2007.

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DT Markus Kuhn

Defensive tackle Markus Kuhn is a hard worker and an affable personality who has the respect of his teammates and coaches.

The problem, though, for the Giants’ seventh-round draft pick from 2012 is that he hasn’t really been productive as a defensive tackle.

Kuhn, who has 28 tackles and one sack in his career, is more of an absorber than he is a punisher. Not surprisingly, per Pro Football Focus, Kuhn finished with a minus-11.7 grade playing against the run and a minus-3.5 grade rushing the passer.

If the Giants want to improve the league’s 30th-ranked run defense in 2014, they need to get more stout along the defensive line’s interior or at the very least, see a more physical version of Kuhn, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2013, emerge moving forward. 

OL Brandon Mosley

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Originally a college tackle, the Giants worked to convert Brandon Mosley, their fourth-round pick in 2012, to a guard.

To say his NFL career has been bumpy to date would be an understatement. He missed his rookie season with an elbow injury.

In his second season, he was active for 13 games, with one start before suffering a broken hand.

Last year, projected to be the heir apparent to Chris Snee’s right guard position, Mosley quickly faded from that competition when he experienced back issues in the preseason. He was replaced by John Jerry.

Mosley would come back to play in the Giants’ first five games. He was inactive for the next seven games but finished out the season active when injuries ate away at the offensive line. 

With the Giants having added guard/center Brett Jones from the CFL and re-signing Dallas Reynolds, it will be interesting to see where Mosley fits into the competition for a backup spot. 

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football, the Journal Inquirer and Sports Xchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced.