Is Ex-Panther Charles Johnson An Upgrade Over Jason Pierre-Paul?

According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, free agent Charles Johnson will visit the New York Giants on Sunday. The nine-year veteran was released by the Carolina Panthers on Friday. Johnson was a third-round pick in 2007 and spent his entire career in Carolina.

Free agency begins Wednesday, but GMs are looking to gauge interest in some of their top targets. Jerry Reese is in the market for a pass rusher or two with Jason Pierre-Paul and Robert Ayers to test the market.

Johnson, 29, registered just one sack last year in nine regular season games. He was limited with a hamstring tear and would have cost the Panthers $15 million against the cap. Johnson was a sack machine in the previous three seasons with a combined total of 34.0.

Pierre-Paul’s production over those same three years, removing his club-handed performance from last year, doesn’t compare to Johnson’s. He notched just 21.0 sacks. And with Pierre-Paul’s injury, there’s no guarantee on his grip strength or ability to wrap up tackles. Ben McAdoo also revealed at the combine that it’s unknown whether JPP will be able to play without the club in 2016.

Obviously, Johnson and JPP are not the only options out there for a quality edge rusher. Reese expressed interest in bringing Ayers back next season and the New York Daily News reported that the Giants have interest in meeting with Mario Williams. Williams is also coming off a down year, but had 38.0 sacks from 2012-2014.

If the it was a relatively short-term deal, would the Giants rather have Johnson or JPP on the roster for 2016?