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Seth Wenig/Associated Press

After devoting a combined $131.25 million in contracts to 2015 free-agent defensive end Olivier Vernon and defensive tackle Damon Harrison, the other half of the Giants' starting defensive line (Jason Pierre-Paul and Johnathan Hankins) is now up for renewal.

Playing on a one-year “prove it” deal in 2016, Pierre-Paul put an end to any questions concerning his permanently damaged right hand. Pierre-Paul finished second on the team in sacks (7.0) behind team leader Vernon (8.5).

Pierre-Paul also recorded a team-leading three forced fumbles and was the only one of the Giants starting defensive linemen to record a pass defensed—his total of eight tying him with linebacker Jonathan Casillas for the team lead among the defense’s front seven.

Pierre-Paul also had a strong year against the run. Per Pro Football Focus, he finished seventh (out of 12 eligible 4-3 defensive ends who took at least 75 percent of their team’s defensive snaps) with a 7.1 run-stop percentage and tied for the lowest number of missed tackles (two) against the run (with the Jets’ Sheldon Richardson) from among that same 12-man group.

Thanks to his strong production, Pierre-Paul is, per Ralph Vacchiano of SNY, seeking a deal to match or top Vernon’s 5-year, $85 million pact.

He’s unlikely to get it for multiple reasons.

First, Pierre-Paul has played one full season in the last four years, coming in 2014 when he posted his best career numbers (77 total tackles and 12.5 sacks) since 2011, his breakout season.

Add to that the fact that at 28 years old, Pierre-Paul is three years older than Vernon when he signed his contract last winter, and it would be hard to see the Giants justifying paying Pierre-Paul an average of $17 million per season, which per Spotrac, is what Vernon is averaging and which is more than what Robert Quinn (Rams, $14.253 million/year) and J.J. Watt (Houston, $16.67 million/year) average.

As noted on the first slide, the Giants are not expected to have anywhere near the salary cap space they had in 2016. With other pressing needs—offensive tackle comes to mind—if Pierre-Paul does indeed want Vernon money, he’s probably not going to get it from the Giants.

If Pierre-Paul walks, the Giants will have an interesting dilemma: Do they stick with Romeo Okwara, who filled in for Pierre-Paul when he ended up missing the rest of the season due to an abdominal injury, or do they seek free-agent help?

Premier pass-rushers aren’t going to come cheap, so for the same reason (glaring holes elsewhere) the Giants are unlikely to sink money into Pierre-Paul, they will probably look for a lower-cost veteran addition (maybe someone who is still currently on a roster but who might shake free once teams start making their cuts).

They’ll also likely continue to develop Okwara and 2015 third-round pick Owa Odighizuwa, both of whom have shown pass-rush potential but also need to fine-tune their run defense. It would also be surprising if they fail to add a defensive end in the draft within the first three picks.