Would This Unrestricted Free Agent Be a Fit for Giants' Defense?

The roster-building process is never done, and although the Giants have most of their 90-man training camp roster set, one veteran defender is still out there who might make for a nice addition.

Cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon / Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Giants will open their 2024 training camp at the end of July, but that doesn’t mean that retooling their roster is finished. 

According to Over the Cap, the Giants currently hold the lowest available cap space in the NFL, with a positive balance of $1.126 million. That meager amount of money makes signing additional players nearly impossible. 

However, if tight end Darren Waller retires, as is believed will be the case, that would free up just over $11 million in cap space due to the transaction being a post-June 1 move. 

• RELATED: Is Giants CB Cor'Dale Flott a Good Fit at Outside Corner?

The team could use that extra money gained to pursue a veteran free agent or two to shore up any units general manager Joe Shoen and head coach Brian Daboll still view as needing extra depth. 

One such area that could be a candidate for additional talent is cornerback. Although the team added veteran David Long, Jr. to the mix and pledged their confidence in third-year man CorDale Flott, the Giants might be wise to add another veteran, such as cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon, if things don’t go according to plan at the position this summer.

Witherspoon, 6-2 and 195 pounds, is a former third-round pick by the 49ers in 2017 who was most recently with the Los Angeles Rams, for whom he started 17 games, his first full season of games played in his career. 

Before signing with the Rams, Witherspoon, who once dealt with a significant hamstring injury, had spent the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the Steelers, who acquired him via trade from the Seahawks. 

Witherspoon appeared in just 13 games over those two seasons, suffering a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 3 of the 2022 season. The Steelers released him on May 17, 2023. 

Primarily an outside cornerback with good length, Witherspoon boasts a 92.5 NFL coverage rating, in which he’s allowed 55.6 percent of the pass targets against him to be completed for 2,874 yards (13.9 yards/per reception). 

In 2,511 career coverage snaps, he’s allowed only 27 touchdowns but has 29 pass breakups and 11 career interceptions. Witherspoon, who in 2019 was tied for fourth in interceptions returned for a touchdown (one), finished last season ranked eighth in pass breakups with 14.

Last season, Witherspoon signed a one-year deal with the Rams for the veteran minimum. Thus far, it seems as though interest in his services has been quiet, making one wonder if the 29-year-old would be open to another one-year veteran minimum deal or even a deal loaded with incentives should he be called upon to step in.   

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