I’m going to make a differing opinion from this post by my colleague, Craig Santucci, and it’s simply this for the New York Giants: do not re-sign Lawrence Tynes.

The unrestricted free agent has been consistent in his six-year tenure with the G-Men, but that’s not necessarily a  good thing. While his stat line has been bloated by chip shots in the 20-to-29-yard range, his performance with kicks beyond 40 yards has been unacceptable for an NFL kicker.

Tynes has connected on just 69 percent of all field goals from a distance of 40 yards or more since joining the Giants in 2007. He is a perennial bottom-tier kicker, who benefits from the Giants’ inability to score in the red zone.

Yes, the Scottish-born kicker has connected on a few “big” kicks for the Giants, but how much longer can they ignore his mediocrity? Like it or not, the kicker can have a vital impact on key games and Tynes’ weak leg will cost the Giants sooner or later, much like his missed 43-yarder in the team’s 17-16 loss in Week 13 to the Washington Redskins.

At 34 years of age, Tynes isn’t going to improve either. He is what he is. He has never made more than 85 percent of his field goal attempts and that is not good enough for a Giants team that has proven to be very dependent on field goals to be victorious.

Unfortunately, venturing out to get a kicker can often be a crapshoot. Like relief pitchers in baseball, kickers can often be hit or miss, so general manager Jerry Reese would have his work cut out for him should he seek to move on without Tynes in the offseason.

Sometimes there is no telling just how good a kicker may be coming out of college, but the Giants would be wise to take a look at the draft’s big three in the later rounds or as undrafted free agents—those three being Florida State’s Dustin Hopkins, Florida’s Caleb Sturgis and Nebraska’s Brett Maher.

And if the Cleveland Browns are foolish enough to let Pro Bowl kicker Phil Dawson walk, Big Blue should pounce on the 14-year veteran.

Lou Musto / Featured Columnist

You can follow him on Twitter @LouisMusto.