NFL

Rolle will do what it takes to remain a Giant

Tom Coughlin at 67 years old won’t talk about retirement but Antrel Rolle, 31, will.

“I definitely would like to retire as a Giant,’’ Rolle said the day after his season ended, far too prematurely for his liking. “I just want to be here.’’

Of all the anticipated changes that can be expected for a team coming off a 7-9 season, a team with 23 unrestricted free agents and the need to alter the makeup of the roster, Rolle stationed in the defensive backfield won’t be one of them. There’s been a theory floated Rolle might become a salary-cap casualty, given that the team is strapped for space and he will eat up $9.2 million in 2014. That is pure folly. The Giants have never been reluctant to pay top dollar to those who prove they deserve top dollar and no one fits that description better than Rolle.

He was far and away the steadiest player for the Giants in their sorry season. Productive, durable — he barely missed a play, much less a game — and versatile. He was not selected for the Pro Bowl — he is a second alternate — and dismissed the slight as a case of a failure to recognize his worth.

“I think I’ve earned my right in this league to express the way I feel about it,’’ Rolle said. “Numbers don’t lie. More importantly than the numbers, I think just my versatility alone, you don’t find safeties doing what I do at the safety position. Whether it’s playing linebacker or going out there and covering the slot receiver all game, you may find [Kenny] Vaccaro from the Saints, I know they use him in a lot of multiple situations, as well as Tyrann Mathieu with Arizona, those are probably the only two safeties playing the way I play throughout the course of a game. Even then, I don’t see them playing as a linebacker in the box.

“It’s bigger than just me, it’s bigger than just an accolade. The Giants since 1996 have had a player in the Pro Bowl each and every year, this is the only year that we haven’t had a player selected for the Pro Bowl. It’s not about me, I wanted to go in and represent my team. The Pro Bowl is a self-accomplishment accolade and, to be honest with you, did I get screwed, absolutely.’’

Rolle finished with a team-high 98 tackles, a career-high two sacks and a career-high six interceptions — the most of any safety in the league. His one down moment came Nov. 24 in the biggest game of the season, when he faltered in coverage on the fateful final drive as Tony Romo led the Cowboys to a game-winning field goal in a crushing 24-21 loss that essentially eliminated the Giants from any shot at playoff contention. That Rolle during that defensive series was out of position, forced to fill in at nickel cornerback, did not blunt his frustration but did help explain his failure.

Rolle is entering the final year of the five-year, $37 million contract he signed in 2010 and his addition has been a case of a free-agent decision working to perfection. Now Rolle wants more.

If the Giants want to reduce the salary-cap hit Rolle will cost in 2014, they can extend his contract and, given his performance and that he shows no sign of slowing down, locking him up with another deal seems a smart move.

“Whatever the Giants want to do, I’m a professional and I handle my business in a professional manner,’’ Rolle said. “If that’s what they want to do I’ll be all for it.

“That’s definitely the ultimate goal, to get an extension, add more years to my deal and to be able to be a part of this organization throughout the rest of my career. I’m not a guy who wants to play 14, 15 years. I’ve never been that kind of guy. I just like to play and be effective while I’m playing in this league and I know, easily, I have four more years of playing at an elite level.’’