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Former Rutgers star Devin McCourty is expected to draw interest from the Giants.

(Tim Farrell | NJ Advance Media)

With veteran safety Antrel Rolle set to hit the market, the search for a replacement is about to intensify for the Giants when free agent negotiating opens this weekend.

The Giants are expected to look straight to the top of the soon-to-be available players, beginning with New England's Devin McCourty and Denver's Rahim Moore, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation. The individuals requested anonymity because teams can't sign free agents from other teams until Tuesday at 4 p.m. (ET).

Both McCourty and Moore are free safeties who will draw serious interest from a multitude of teams, and will likely be paid handsomely for their services. The expectations are that McCourty, a Rutgers product and New York native, will land a deal that pays him in the range of $9-10 million per year and Moore $5-8 million.

The Eagles are one of the many teams expected to make a serious run at McCourty, who is open to playing locally. The Raiders, Jets, Bears and Texans are expected to be among those in the running for Moore. As always when it comes to free agency, price will dictate how far the Giants are willing to go on a specific player. Seattle's Earl Thomas and New Orleans' Jairus Byrd are the only safeties in the $9-10 million range. That may be a stretch for the Giants.

McCourty, 27, is a converted corner who has become a Pro Bowl-caliber safety. Moore, 25, was a second-round pick in 2011 and is coming off a solid season where he proved to be a playmaker with five interceptions and two forced fumbles.

After McCourty and Moore, there is a significant dropoff at the position.

"Safety is a very thin market right now in free agency," said former NFL personnel executive and current ESPN analyst Louis Riddick during a conference call with reporters on Thursday.

Rolle is a quality option, but he's 32 and unlikely to break the bank. Buffalo's Da'Norris Searcy is also an interesting free agent (only one full year as a starter) and could draw some interest from the Giants.

"There's not much there," one individual with knowledge of the safety market said. "It makes those two [at the top] very valuable, at a difficult position to fill."

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With that being the case, the Giants are expected to start with the big guns. They'll likely move down from there, in desperate need to pencil in at least one starter with Rolle, Stevie Brown and Quintin Demps all set to become free agents.

The Giants don't have a safety under contract right now that has started an NFL game. Late-round draft picks Cooper Taylor and Nat Berhe should receive an opportunity to start at one spot, but the Giants want a proven starter on the other side.

This is not considered a strong draft for safeties either. There is not believed to be a player the Giants would pick with the ninth-overall pick. There may not be many (if any) second-round options either.

The Giants' answer appears to be in free agency. If history with general manager Jerry Reese proves anything, it's that he's not afraid to heavily invest in a safety. Five years ago to the day (March 6, 2010), the Giants signed Antrel Rolle to a record five-year, $37 million deal. Rolle played every game in those five years.

Now, a search for his replacement appears on.

Jordan Raanan may be reached at jraanan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JordanRaanan. Find NJ.com Giants on Facebook.