Long before Jason Pierre-Paul nearly blew off his entire right hand, the Giants were headed into a season with a fairly no-name group of defensive ends. At a marquee position that for years was talented and well-stocked — the hallmark of this franchise’s defense — the Giants had JPP, then a bunch of other guys.
They assembled an assortment of oldsters trying to hang on, backup-type veterans fairly new on the scene with modest career production and youngsters with some talent but not much in the way of proven production.
Robert Ayers fits into the middle group — a 29-year-old used mostly as a reserve his five years in Denver and last season with the Giants.