{"id":114133,"date":"2024-04-21T03:50:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-21T03:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/?p=114133"},"modified":"2024-04-21T03:50:42","modified_gmt":"2024-04-21T03:50:42","slug":"giants-pushed-to-make-late-free-agency-splash-on-former-61-million-db-nguyensa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/giants-pushed-to-make-late-free-agency-splash-on-former-61-million-db-nguyensa\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants Pushed to Make Late Free Agency Splash on Former $61 Million DB"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div>\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Justin-Simmons-1-e1713648541489.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" alt=\"Giants urged to sign Justin Simmons in free agency after NFL draft.\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-img-load-time=\"116\" data-dom-ready-time=\"143\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Getty\u00a0An NFL writer suggested free agent safety Justin Simmons as a possible veteran fit for the New York Giants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Like it or not, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/new-york-giants\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Giants<\/a>\u00a0have an uncomfortable number of holes to fill heading into the 2024\u00a0NFL Draft.<\/p>\n<p>There are roster needs at quarterback, wide receiver, cornerback, offensive line, safety, running back, tight end \u2014 if\u00a0Darren Waller\u00a0retires \u2014 and more. And there\u2019s no way the Giants can trust in rookies to bolster each and every one of these areas of concern.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, a late free agency splash or two could prove necessary in rounding out this depth chart after the draft, and one position with a ton of available talent on the open market is safety.<\/p>\n<p>For example, two-time Pro Bowl DB\u00a0Justin Simmons\u00a0is still currently out there in free agency, and a player like that can change the entire complexion of your defense.\u00a0Bleacher Report writer Matt Holder highlighted\u00a0Simmons as a veteran the Giants should target once we move past the draft.<\/p>\n<p>Voicing: \u201cWith\u00a0Xavier McKinney\u00a0now in Green Bay, New York could use a safety\u2026 Simmons could take on the deep or free safety role for the Giants and he\u2019s still a quality player having been a second-team All-Pro and\/or Pro Bowler in each of the last five seasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Holder added that \u201cwhile [Big Blue] did sign\u00a0Jalen Mills\u00a0already this offseason, Mills was more of the strong safety\/slot corner type of defensive back last year in New England.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Simmons is an\u00a0eight-year NFL pro\u00a0that began his career as a third-round pick. Since 2016, he\u2019s quietly become one of the more consistent free safeties in the game with 108 total starts over that span, as well as 30 interceptions, 64 pass defenses, five forced fumbles and over 600 total tackles (19 for a loss).<\/p>\n<p>The respected vet also served as a team captain during his time with the\u00a0Denver Broncos.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>How Could the Giants Afford Justin Simmons?<\/h2>\n<p>The first thought that comes to mind when hearing that a player of Simmons\u2019 talent level has been connected to the Giants is price tag. After all, the G-Men aren\u2019t exactly flush with cap space right now \u2014\u00a0Over the Cap estimates\u00a0approximately $5.45 million in available funds \u2014 and Simmons\u00a0once signed a $61 million contract\u00a0in Denver.<\/p>\n<p>There are a couple of factors to take into account when debating whether or not the Giants can afford Simmons.<\/p>\n<p>One, the\u00a0safety market\u00a0is not what it used to be, and Simmons turns 31 in November.<\/p>\n<p>McKinney signed for top of the market money because he\u2019s entering his prime. Simmons\u2019 eventual deal will likely be more in line with a veteran like\u00a0Kevin Byard\u00a0(age 31), however. The\u00a0Chicago Bears\u00a0awarded Byard\u00a0$15 million over two seasons\u00a0this spring, with an average annual salary of $7.5 million and just $7.39 million guaranteed.<\/p>\n<p>Even if Simmons gets slightly more than that in 2024, it looks like he\u2019ll be taking a significant pay cut from his previous $15.25 million salary.<\/p>\n<p>The second factor involves veteran wide receiver\u00a0Darius Slayton.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Giants Could Trade or Cut Darius Slayton in Order to Sign Justin Simmons<\/h2>\n<p>Slayton\u00a0made headlines\u00a0for skipping the first week of voluntary workouts on April 17. Not only was he absent, but he also requested a revised contract as part of his delayed attendance.<\/p>\n<p>When asked about this request at his pre-draft press conference, Giants general manager\u00a0Joe Schoen told reporters\u00a0that \u201cwe just signed [Slayton\u2019s] deal a little over 12 months ago\u201d \u2014 seemingly implying that the front office is not interested in honoring the wideout\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat response provides a glimpse into the rough business side of the\u00a0NFL since teams don\u2019t maintain that mindset when it comes to cutting players for under-performing,\u201d\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s Dan Duggan reacted\u00a0on April 19. \u201cSo Slayton, who led the Giants in receiving for the fourth time in five years last season, is trying to exercise his leverage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSlayton, who would forfeit a $350,000 workout bonus if he continues to stay away, would gain leverage if the Giants don\u2019t draft a wide receiver in the first round Thursday,\u201d Duggan went on. \u201cBut his leverage would disappear if the Giants take a wideout with the sixth pick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later, the NYG media member concluded that \u201cSlayton could become a trade candidate if the Giants take a first-round receiver.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This was a curious move by Slayton and his agents, considering Big Blue\u00a0can still save $3.8 million\u00a0in cap space by releasing him. A trade would shed even more of his $8.15 million hit, freeing up enough money ($6.4 million) to sign a key piece like Simmons to a one- or two-year deal in free agency.<\/p>\n<p>With star wide receiver prospects\u00a0Malik Nabers\u00a0and\u00a0Rome Odunze\u00a0expected to be available for the Giants at No. 6 overall, Slayton\u2019s contract request was quite bold, to say the least.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Getty\u00a0An NFL writer suggested free agent safety Justin Simmons as a possible veteran fit for the New York Giants. Like it or not, the\u00a0New York Giants\u00a0have an&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":114134,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114133"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114133\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114135,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114133\/revisions\/114135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aweu.info\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}