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The New York Giants signed Antrel Rolle to a five-year, $37 million deal before the 2010 season. It seemed like a gamble, but at the time Rolle looked to be a young player with promise. The deal made him the third-highest paid safety in the NFL.
In Rolle's first season with the Giants in 2010 he was voted into the Pro Bowl. His stats, however, did not reflect a Pro Bowl-like player:
Tackles: 87 (23rd among safties)
Interceptions: 1 (Not top 30)
Passes Defensed: 4 (Not top 50)
Sacks: .5
Forced fumbles: 1
What did he do in 2011?
Tackles: 97 (11th among safties)
Interceptions: 2
Passes defensed: 4
Rolle did not make the Pro Bowl in 2011, and he's still making Pro Bowl player type of money.
Rolle is entering his third season with the team, and he still has not shown he is worth the kind of money the Giants are paying him.
A solid player? Yes. A $37 million player? No. That's the type of money you give to the likes of Polamalu, and Rolle is not up to his caliber.
A top safety in the NFL isn't all about tackles. They are all about turnovers. Forced fumbles. Interceptions.
Giants safety Kenny Phillips entered 2011 after sitting out an entire season with an MCL injury and was able to nab four interceptions in the championship season...AND he was limited.
Phillips is entering the final year of his contract worth up to $11,150,000. $11 million vs. $37 million. What if Phillips was not hurt in 2010? How much would he be overshadowing Rolle right now?