Antrel Rolle wants to stay with NY Giants

Antrel Rolle knows exactly how he wants this to go.

For the last five years, he’s been the Giants’ versatile safety, a steady piece of the Big Blue defense, never missing a game. He’s developed close relationships with several teammates, become a mentor to some, a brother to others.

These things matter to Rolle, and they are part of why he wants to be a Giant next season.

“I wanna be with JPP (Jason Pierre-Paul) and (Odell) Beckham, and I can’t wait to see (Victor) Cruz come back,” a wistful Rolle said Wednesday. “These are all my boys, these are my brothers who I love to share the battlefield with. . . . DRC (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie), he’s someone that I helped bring here. He always tells me I ain’t going nowhere.

“I have a great thing going now.”

It’s a great thing that could be nearing its end, however. Rolle is down to the final two games of his five-year contract, and he’ll take the field against the Rams in St. Louis on Sunday knowing that his Giants career could be ticking down.

The future is unpredictable for all players, especially 32-year-old safeties coming off shaky years, and even Rolle admits that 2014 has hardly been his best. One year after putting together his finest season as a Giant with a career-high six interceptions, he’s dropped several picks and occasionally appeared out of position or made undisciplined plays.

Still, Rolle continues to battle on a team struggling for relevance at 5-9.

“Is this my best season? No, it’s not my best season,” Rolle said. “But am I playing ball? Yes, I’m definitely playing ball. I’m not giving up touchdowns. I’m not giving up huge plays. I’m playing what I’m supposed to be playing. I’m playing multiple roles. I just go out there and do what I can do.”

Rolle believes he can still do plenty. Aging safeties are hardly commodities during the offseason, but Rolle believes he can be an anomaly. He has at least three years left, he says.

“I feel good,” he said. “I feel like I can still go out there and definitely be one of the best safeties in this league, and just go out here and just play ball and just let everything unfold for itself. So who knows. Maybe at 13 (years in the league) I’ll say two more. I’m just going with the flow and whatever my body tells me at this point.”

Why can’t he keep going, he asks. He hasn’t missed a game as a Giant the last five years and feels “amazing,” aside from some occasional foot soreness.

“I never worry about age. . . . Performance is everything,” he said. “God willing, I’ve been able to stay healthy, I’ve been able to go out there and contribute each and every game, and be the player they expect me to be.

“Talk to me in a couple years,” he added. “But I’ve always been honest with myself: The day I feel like my performance is not the same because of anything physical or athleticism, no one will have to sit me down. I’ll sit myself down. I’ve always been brutally honest with myself and others.”

And right now, Rolle sees no reason to walk away, and plenty of reasons to find a way back to the Giants next year. Rolle didn’t talk salary on Wednesday, but he did make it clear that he feels at home with a franchise that he believes can rise from the ashes next season.

“It’d be great to stay here with these guys and build something,” he said. “I feel like next year, God willing, we keep everyone healthy, we have a great chance. I have a great thing going right now.”


(nydailynews.com)