4 declined fifth-year trade targets for the NY Giants including Isaiah Simmons

Recently, many teams had to make several decisions on players for their fifth-year options for the 2024 season. Several players like Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert were extremely easy decisions to make; like the New York Giants did with Andrew Thomas, picking up his fifth-year option for $14.1 million.

However, there were several players who weren’t so fortunate, as they had their fifth-year option declined. There's a long list, and it has football fans talking quite a bit about things:

The irony from this was the Washington Commanders were deemed the team to win the “Chase Young sweepstakes" when they landed the No. 2 overall pick and went with the star pass-rusher: a player that at the time many Giants fans were hoping for, and instead dropped to No. 4 with Thomas. Fast forward to three years later and Thomas is the one getting the fifth-year option and Young is the one potentially on his way out of Washington.

A year ago, after his fifth-year option was declined by the Giants, some wondered about the future of Daniel Jones, but he responded with a season that helped guide the Giants to their first postseason berth since 2016. Danny Dimes earned a four-year, $160 million contract.

With all of that said, some of the players who are listed here might not be in their team’s future plans. And if certain teams fall out of playoff races, some of these players could become potential trade chips for a team like the Giants.

4. Ravens LB Patrick Queen

This one stands out a lot because of the previous connections with Patrick Queen and Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale. Martindale was the former Ravens defensive coordinator for Queen in his first two seasons before heading to East Rutherford.

Queen knows the defensive system that Martindale runs and had success in it during the first two seasons of his career. Given the fact that the Giants have a question mark at the other middle linebacker spot next to Bobby Okereke, Queen is a very intriguing option if the Ravens were to consider moving him after drafting Trenton Simpson and adding Roquan Smith last season.

In his first three seasons with the Ravens, Queen has been a solid player, as he’s had 106, 98 and 117 total tackles in each season with 10 total sacks; his career high was in 2022 with five. Queen also had two interceptions and two fumble recoveries for the Ravens in 2022

At the moment, Jarrad Davis is penciled in as the other starter next to Okereke in Martindale’s 3-4 defense. Before Davis, it was Jaylon Smith, who seemed to fall out of favor at the end of the year. A reunion of Queen with Martindale in East Rutherford in his pressure-packed defense could be something to look for if the fourth-year veteran is unhappy in Baltimore at all.

3. Carolina Panthers CB C.J. Henderson

One of the areas the Giants focused on in the NFL Draft was the secondary. Given the amount of solid wide receivers that the Giants defense will be tasked with to try and stop, it makes sense for them to get as much secondary help as possible for 2023.

The Giants took Deonte Banks in the first round and added another cornerback in the later rounds with Tre Hawkins III, but if the Giants were ever looking to bolster the secondary and potentially buy on a player who could be on their way out, C.J. Henderson might be an option.

Henderson was initially the Jacksonvile Jaguars first-round pick, but he was moved to the Carolina Panthers a couple of seasons ago and acquired by a regime that is no longer there in Carolina. If the Panthers, who traded up to acquire the first pick, go through any struggles in 2023, Henderson could be a possible target if the Giants need additional help at corner.

In 17 games for the Panthers in 2022, Henderson had 58 total tackles with two interceptions and six pass deflections. Given how depleted the Giants secondary was at times when Adoree' Jackson was dealing with injuries, additional secondary help can always be beneficial, even with the additional players in the draft with Banks and Hawkins.

2. Seattle Seahawks LB Jordyn Brooks

The Seahawks declining Jordyn Brooks fifth-year option was a bit surprising, especially coming off the season he had in 2022. In 16 games, Brooks had 161 total tackles for Seattle with a sack. Yet, Seattle declined the option that would have paid him $12.72 million for 2024.

For a tackling machine in Brooks who is coming off that kind of season with the Seahawks; plus a year in 2021 where he had 184 total tackles; and it’s a complete shock to see that Seattle decided to decline their former first-round pick’s option, especially when he’s only 25 years old and just entering the prime of his career.

Seattle is expected to contend again for a playoff spot like they did in 2022, so them being sellers might not make sense right away. But if Seattle struggles and looks to move a few players, then Brooks might be a very attractive option.

Or if Brooks has any grumbling with the Seahawks between now and the start of the regular season, that could be a time when Brooks could be moved for draft picks. And if that is the case, that could be where Joe Schoen could look to pounce.

1. Arizona Cardinals LB Isaiah Simmons

Heading into the 2020 NFL Draft, a lot of people liked the Giants for Isaiah Simmons. After they took Andrew Thomas, Simmons dropped a few spots later to the Cardinals.

Simmons has been a decent player for the Cardinals, but there are some who think Simmons could benefit from a change of scenery and benefit from better coaching. This includes former Giants linebacker and current radio analyst Carl Banks. Here's what the Big Blue legend had to say:

What better coach to unlock and unleash Simmons’ potential as a defensive player than Martindale, who brought out several Giants players attributes on defense and made them better in 2022. No better example of that is Dexter Lawrence, whose game transformed from a pretty good player into one of the best interior defensive lineman in football. He was just rewarded with a four-year, $90 million contract for it.

There’s no guarantees that Simmons will make the career jump that Lawrence did. But if he’s available and it doesn’t cost much, it can’t hurt to inquire and explore the price tag. The Cardinals are not expected to compete in 2023 and given that the team is now under a new regime, Simmons might be someone who could intrigue the Giants, especially if Arizona isn’t looking to ask for a lot in return.

Pus, imagine if the Giants could end up with both Thomas and Simmons; the two players most wanted by fans for the Giants to land from the 2020 NFL Draft. It would make for an ideal scenario, especially if Simmons were able to become the player most saw heading into his rookie year of 2020.

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