New York Giants will tag Jason Pierre-Paul if necessary

By Cory Buck | Feb 23, 2015

Dec 28, 2014; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mark Sanchez (3) is sacked by New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul (90) in the first half during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Giants are reportedly planning to apply the franchise tag to defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul if the two sides don’t agree by March 2.

As the deadline nears for NFL teams to assign the franchise tag to one player of their choice, it appears the New York Giants will be one such team if push comes to shove. The team reportedly wants its 26-year-old defensive end, Jason Pierre-Paul, back in the fold in a bad way. So much so that the team is willing to shell out $15 million to keep him in town if it comes to that.

Giants will use their franchise tag on DE Jason Pierre-Paul if the two sides fail to reach a long-term deal by March 2, per team source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 23, 2015

More from New York Giants

There’s been plenty of debate on whether this is a move the Giants would consider or if even such a move would make sense for the team. If Schefter’s report is accurate, that debate can be laid to rest. The team wants JPP back in the fold and who can blame them?

While Pierre-Paul has been up and down for much of his career, the ups of his career have been plenty tantalizing for a team that needs to keep its high-end talent if it wants to recover from back-to-back failed campaigns. The defensive end is just entering his prime and posted 12.5 sacks in 2014, his best total since his 16.5 sacks in 2011.

Of course, keeping JPP with a franchise tag won’t come cheap for the Giants. The expected tag price for a defensive end appears to be around $15 million for a one-year deal. The Giants currently sport a little over $16 million in cap space for the 2015 season, and they can hardly afford to spend it all on one player.

That’s why it makes more sense for the Giants to continue negotiations with Pierre-Paul in the hopes of working out a deal that offers a more team-friendly cap hit. While the team would clearly prefer to keep JPP over fellow pending free agent, safety Antrel Rolle, it would be nice to have the space to keep both.

That can only happen if the Giants avoid having to apply the franchise tag to Jason Pierre-Paul. Sometimes such a move is inevitable and it’s becoming increasingly clear that if the team can’t sign JPP long term, they will do what they must to keep him on board in the short term.

More from FanSided

Home/New York Giants