Antrel Rolle one of the top free agent safeties on the market?

Once an area of strength for the Giants, the safety position became something of a black hole for the team in 2014.

At the conclusion of 2013, the Giants had to be feeling good about their safety depth chart. Defensive captain Antrel Rolle was coming off of a Pro Bowl season, Stevie Brown, who recorded eight interceptions in 2012, would be returning from a torn ACL, they had the talented but troubled Will Hill on the roster, and had just signed Quintin Demps and drafted Nat Berhe to provide some depth.

Unfortunately, nearly every single one of those players disappointed in some way. Rolle finally started to show his age, and Hill was cut before training camp after violating the league's substance abuse policy, incurring a six-game suspension, and wound up on the Baltimore Ravens. Brown struggled to recapture his big-play form and lost his starting job, while Demps was overexposed as a starter.

Now Rolle, Brown and Demps are free agents, meaning the opportunity is ripe for the Giants to revamp the position through free agency. They will have at least $15 million in cap space to work with, possibly more if they make some roster cuts, which should give them the flexibility to throw some money at some of the top safeties on the market.

The big question Giants fans have been asking is whether the team will give Rolle another contract. Looking at the top free agent safeties, it's difficult to determine where Rolle would rank. If a team is paying him for past performance, he would easily fall in the top 10, but his performance really slipped in 2014, with very few big plays, a lot of missed tackles, and poor coverage.

For that reason, I placed Rolle at the bottom of the list of top free agent safeties on the free agent market. Keep in mind that some of these guys might not be available for the Giants, as their respective teams can always re-sign them before March 10, when the free agency floodgates officially open.


(nj.com)