The New Orleans Saints were still in the process of fact-finding on Wednesday with All Pro safety Justin Simmons arriving in Irvine for a visit.
The team and free agent will need to figure out whether they're on the same page with a lot of things. That includes fit with the current roster, but also, as Deuce McAllister explains, the most important element.
"To be honest, it’s about the money," McAllister said. "That’s what it comes down to."
As far as that conversation, the Saints and Simmons' camp have been in talks about a potential signing dating back to the spring, with the initial conversations taking place at some point after the draft. The two sides couldn't come to a deal then, but the interest has always been there.
"As it’s getting closer to the season I think we’re probably a little closer on both sides and I think that’s why you bring the player in, you have a chance to sit down and visit with him and see how things work out," head coach Dennis Allen said, "so that’s really what it is.”
Simmons was a cap casualty after his xxth season with the Denver Broncos, where he's been one of the most prolific for several years in terms of taking down interceptions and has been named 2nd team All Pro each of the past three seasons and to the Pro Bowl in 2023. Simmons' 30 career interceptions ranks 7th among active players.
At this stage, it's likely a multi-year deal isn't in the cards. Things like fit, role and opportunity could be far more important for the 30-year-old defensive back.
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"The leverage always becomes how many teams need you," McAllister continued, "and then once camp starts, teams start to figure out what they have, I don’t really need a safety, I like my room. Hey, would it hurt us to add this guy, that’s kind of where it goes. ... It almost becomes a prove-it type situation and you find a number that you like and you feel like that you can hit some incentives and you kind of go from there.”
The good news for the Saints is that there's a good bit of familiarity with the player. Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods and defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson were both with Simmons in Denver during the xxx seasons. Another veteran safety Will Harris goes even further back, with the pair teaming up at Boston College before arriving in the NFL.
The familiarity can help eliminate variables to the equation in terms of adding a new piece to a locker room this late in the game ahead of the 2024 season. Locker room chemistry can be difficult to balance, and teams don't simply add players without a consideration of what else they might be disrupting. In this case such an addition would likely be displacing some players such as Jordan Howden and Johnathan Abram, both of whom have been competing for starter reps throughout camp.
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“You never know what you’re getting until they actually get here, and so when you have somebody that’s been in the meeting room with a player, whether it be a player or a coach, but somebody that’s been in the meeting room, been on the practice field, been through the games, you know, to where you have intimate knowledge of how the player responds in different situations, what type of teammate is he, is he gonna fit into the culture that we have here," Allen said. "All those different things are things that you don’t really know unless you have that knowledge of being in the building and so yea, I think having those guys know the player and having worked with him before would make a transition easier.”
The Saints have one more practice on Thursday before shipping out to Arizona for their preseason opener against the Cardinals.