Big Blue will ‘take a look’ at Peterson

the Giants’ intentions until they act in free agency and draft late April. Reese is not addressing the media at this week’s combine so there will be no front office on-record perspective.

Manning, 36, who is under contract for three more years, undoubtedly needs to improve his decision-making, too. And as he prepares for his 14th season, there is also the question of who will succeed him when he’s gone and even who will back him up in 2017 (Ryan Nassib and Josh Johnson both are due to hit free agency, and Nassib is recovering from elbow surgery).

McAdoo said it’s “too early” for him to assess this draft class of quarterbacks, led by North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer, that he is unsure about Nassib’s progression, and that the club’s immediate plans for a backup are undetermined.

McAdoo did say the Giants “think highly of” Jason-Pierre Paul, whom the team franchise-tagged. And the coach said he’s not concerned about the approximate $16.934 million value of JPP’s potential one-year deal affecting the Giants in free agency.

He also said just because the Giants spent big on defense last year and saw results doesn’t mean offense is now the organization’s only point of emphasis in 2017.

“We’re not looking to play defense the way we played defense last year. We’re looking to get better,” McAdoo said. “We can’t show up thinking we have everything figured out on the defensive side of the ball. We need to make gains, marginal gains, maybe 1% gains, but we need to generate those. We can’t be too big to do the little things. And that needs to show up the first day we get together in April.” INDIANAPOLIS — Adrian Peterson to the Giants? Ben McAdoo and Big Blue will “take a look.” That’s the most the head coach would say Wednesday at the NFL Combine when asked if the Giants share the same interest in Peterson that the pending free agent running back has shown publicly in them. “You know what? We’ll go take a look at him, we’ll evaluate him, we’ll get a grade on anyone who’s available, and we’ll make those decisions in terms of what’s best for the Giants moving forward,” McAdoo said. McAdoo’s answer revealed little of the team’s intentions. He wasn’t about to slam the door shut eight days prior to the March 9 opening of free agency. Plus, that ultimately is a question for GM Jerry Reese, who is not addressing the media this week at all. Peter King of MMQB. com did write on Wednesday morning that he “hear(s) the Giants are interested” in Peterson, who turns 32 on March 21. And McAdoo’s offense certainly is in need of a bigger and reliable runner to complement second-year back Paul Perkins and veteran Shane Vereen.

Peterson, entering his 11th season, would be an upgrade at the position. Still, there are other likely better fits for Peterson, such as the Packers or a return to the Vikings, which Minnesota GM Rick Spielman advocated Wednesday. Peterson told NFL Network in February that he was intrigued by the Giants, Texans and Bucs, and even tweeted about the Giants’ “interesting moves.” But then on Wednesday, ESPN reported “sources” saying the Oakland Raiders “have caught Peterson’s attention.”

The Giants already have committed $17 million of their $30to-35 million cap space to a Jason Pierre-Paul franchise tag as they work on a long-term deal for the defensive end at a lower number. Plus they have needs on the offensive line, at other skill positions, and business to conduct on defense, with defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins and linebacker Keenan Robinson about to hit free agency.

Secondly, Peterson carries the baggage of pleading no contest in 2014 to beating his 4-year-old son with a tree branch, which led to a suspension for the remainder of that season. The Giants are fresh off the mishandling of Josh Brown’s domestic violence situation and the release of their kicker because of it.

— Leonard