5 New York Giants Who Must Impress in Contract Year to Earn New Deal After 2015
More than two dozen current New York Giants are slated to hit free agency next spring, and there's no way the team can retain them all.
The Giants are in position to blow up a large portion of their roster after the 2015 season if things don't start to turn around, so extra incentive exists for players in a contract year to perform. Those who contribute to New York's comeback will be re-signed, while those who fall behind will have to fend for themselves on the open market.
Of all the current Giants who may face free agency after the season, five stand out as particularly important to the team's success this year. They will be under the microscope throughout 2015, and their evaluation will result in a new contract offer or lack thereof.
This slideshow highlights those five Giants.
QB Eli Manning
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Can you imagine someone other than Eli Manning quarterbacking the New York Giants?
It's going to happen sooner or later. Manning is 34 years old and probably in the twilight of his NFL career.
He's going into the final year of his contract, and as recently as the end of April, Manning has said "nothing has been brought up" in terms of a new deal with the Giants, according to Jordan Raanan of NJ.com.
Manning is only one year removed from an atrocious 27-interception season, so perhaps the Giants have one eye turned toward the future as their current franchise quarterback heads into a contract year. However, after his resurgence in 2014, it's likelier that Manning will be re-signed. The only question is when and for how long/much.
Now that Miami's Ryan Tannehill is under contract for an average of $16 million a year, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Manning has an opportunity to show the Giants that he should be valued similarly.
Manning started to do that last season. In his first year under offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, Manning eclipsed 4,000 yards for the first time since 2011. He threw 30 touchdowns for only the second time in his career and nearly cut his interception total in half from the year before.
As a sign of his overall efficiency, Manning completed passes at a career-best rate of 63.1 percent in 2014.
Still, the impressive passing stats didn't translate into wins. After winning seven games in 2013, the Giants claimed only six victories last year.
If the Giants continue their downward trend, despite solid play from their trusty passer, it could be an all-new team taking the field in 2016.
DE Jason Pierre-Paul
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Defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul turned it on at the end of last season, but where was he before that? The nationally celebrated pass-rusher recorded nine of his 12.5 sacks in the last five games of the year.
From the root of his back injury in mid-2012 to the late-season breakout in 2014, Pierre-Paul had a mere 5.5 sacks in 29 games played.
Pierre-Paul's long dry spell, which was the result of back and shoulder injuries, is the reason he's likely to play under the franchise tag in 2015. Although it will cost the team $14.8 million for just one season, the Giants can't risk shelling out a long-term deal if he isn't displaying any consistency rushing the passer.
Was JPP's late-season explosion a sign of what's to come or was it an 11th-hour push for a new contract? The 2015 season will serve as a test for the Giants to find the answer to that question.
The Giants should remain optimistic that it was the former, but there's reason to believe it was the latter. Recently, former NFL offensive lineman Ross Tucker said on his podcast that players have come to him with concerns about Pierre-Paul "dogging it" if he gets a new deal.
"Quite frankly, I know guys that have said that to me about Jason Pierre-Paul," Tucker said (h/t Giants 101). "Guys that have played for the Giants that are skeptical of how productive Pierre-Paul will be after he gets a big contract. That's a concern."
The Giants know just how much of a lift Pierre-Paul can provide when he is healthy and motivated. He practically dragged the team to the playoffs with 16.5 sacks in 2011, and his impact ultimately led to a Super Bowl XLVI victory.
But if the Giants can't count on that effort after giving him a new contract, they ought to let some other team pay him that money.
CB Prince Amukamara
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The Giants already know cornerback Prince Amukamara can play at a high level. Instead, the challenge for him is to avoid injuries during his contract year.
Amukamara has struggled to stay on the field for the Giants. His health has been a concern from the outset, as he missed the first nine games of his rookie year with a broken foot. Since then, Amukamara has dealt with a plethora of injuries, missing a total of 20 games through four seasons.
He was having a breakout season in 2014, recording a career-high three interceptions and defending a total of 11 passes through the first eight games. His luck ran out midseason, though, as he landed on injured reserve with a biceps injury.
The Giants are counting on Amukamara to team up with Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie on the outside again in 2015, recreating a cornerback tandem that New York enjoyed for only the first half of last season.
Beyond that, however, the future is up in the air for Amukamara. And that worries him a bit.
"People tell me to not worry about it, but I would lie if I said that it wasn't in the back of my head, especially after tracking free agency this year," he told TSN's Danny Wright.
The pressure for a player with an injury history is different because of the unpredictability. Amukamara can be playing his best football—like he was last year—and in a moment, his stock as a free agent can plummet as a result of a freak occurrence.
Professional football is an unforgiving line of business, and Amukamara can't afford to be stung by any more bad luck.
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WR Rueben Randle
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Wide receiver Rueben Randle has a hazy future ahead of him, mostly because the Giants still aren't sure what they have in him. They know he's a big-bodied target at 6'2" and 208 pounds, but how consistently can he use that frame to make plays for New York's offense?
Randle caught 71 passes and approached 1,000 yards last season, yet he didn't always seem that dynamic.
In three seasons with the Giants, he has been a regular source of frustration for his shoddy communication with Manning.
This season, the Giants could field a dominant pass-catching trio in Randle, Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz. In an ideal world, Randle would be the tertiary option, and he should be paid as such if he is retained beyond the 2015 season. To offer him anything more would be fiscally irresponsible.
Cruz is already signed to a six-year, $46 million deal that doesn't expire until 2019. If the Giants pick up Beckham's option in 2018, the Giants wouldn't have to give the rising star a new contract until Cruz becomes a free agent.
Locking up Randle long-term could act like a roadblock in New York's future with Cruz and Beckham.
While the Giants should avoid tying up excess money in Randle, New York's wide receiver landscape could change drastically before the end of the 2015 season. Cruz is recovering from a serious knee injury and might not be as effective as he once was. If Randle emerges as the clear No. 2 option, the Giants might talk about restructuring Cruz's contract instead.
Randle must define himself in 2015, but his future also depends on the fortunes of the receivers around him.
TE Larry Donnell
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Another offensive weapon who must prove his long-term value to the team in 2015 is tight end Larry Donnell.
Last season was part breakout, part breakdown for Donnell. He emerged as a viable pass-catching option with 63 receptions (most by a Giants tight end since Jeremy Shockey had 66 in 2006), but he fumbled four times and his blocking was suspect at best.
Donnell, a former undrafted rookie, was an exclusive-rights free agent this offseason, so the Giants only needed to pay him $585,000 to retain his services for the 2015 season. That's a very team-friendly price for a 6'6", 265-pound red-zone target who scored six times last year.
Donnell's game must expand, however, if he's looking for a big payday.
That means backup tight end Daniel Fells can't relieve him of his run-blocking duties.
It also means he has to fend off two of this year's enticing undrafted options: Matt Lacosse and Will Tye. If either of these players develops a into well-rounded tight end during training camp, Donnell could quickly become old news.
Manning had time to form connections with Shockey and Kevin Boss, but since then, the tight end turnover has been quite tumultuous.
The Giants have fielded a different starting tight end in each of the last four seasons. From Jake Ballard (2011) to Martellus Bennett (2012) to Brandon Myers (2013) to Donnell (2014), the team has not feared throwing someone new into the fold.
For Donnell to buck the trend beyond 2015, he'll need to prove himself as an indispensable talent at the tight end position.
Kevin Boilard writes about the New York Giants for Bleacher Report.
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