<
        >

          NFL Nation

          Four things we learned at combine: Giants

          • Dan Graziano, senior NFL national reporterFeb 20, 2015, 06:00 PM ET
            Close
              Dan Graziano is a senior NFL national reporter for ESPN, covering the entire league and breaking news. Dan also contributes to Get Up, NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, Sunday NFL Countdown and Fantasy Football Now. He is a New Jersey native who joined ESPN in 2011, and he is also the author of two published novels. You can follow Dan on Twitter via @DanGrazianoESPN.
            Follow on X

          INDIANAPOLIS -- Observed and heard at the NFL combine on Friday:

          The New York Giants and Jason Pierre-Paul do not appear to be close to a deal, and Pierre-Paul can expect to be designated the team's franchise player before March 2. As of midday Friday, Pierre-Paul's agent was not among those with whom the Giants have met at the combine, even though they're meeting with the agents for their own free agents. Based on preliminary talks around the end of the season, the Giants believe Pierre-Paul's demands are significantly higher than their preferred price. And while there's still time to get a deal done, a source close to the talks said both sides expect Pierre-Paul to get the (maybe $15 million) franchise tag and possibly play out the year on it.

          Coughlin's not the only Giants coach getting extended. The expectation is the Giants will soon announce a one-year contract extension with head coach Tom Coughlin, but all that will do is line his deal up with those of his coordinators. Coughlin currently has only one year left on his deal, but new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo got a two-year contract and offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, who signed a two-year deal last year, recently had another year added on to extend him through 2016 as well.

          The Giants have expressed interest in re-signing free-agent cornerback Walter Thurmond III and free-agent defensive tackle Mike Patterson, and they are optimistic about getting deals done with both. The situation with free-agent safety Antrel Rolle is more complicated, as the Giants have received indications from Rolle's side that he's looking for a larger contract than they're currently willing to offer.

          The Giants (and everyone else) are going to have a bunch more cap space this year. The NFLPA told agents in its annual combine seminar that its salary-cap projection for 2015 is about $143 million per team, which would be a $10 million increase over last year and a $20 million increase over 2013. That number is not the final number, which still needs to be hammered out in negotiations between the union and the league. But it's likely a low projection, and there are people here who are expecting the cap to come in around $144 million to $145 million.