Stay or Go: Should Giants bring back S Julian Love for 2023 season?

Julian Love has been a dynamic presence in the Giants secondary from the time the team drafted him in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame. And while Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley are going to make most of the headlines as free agents on the offensive side of the ball, Love is the team’s best defensive player set to hit the open market.

It begs the question: Should the Giants re-sign Love or are they better off letting him walk and finding a different, perhaps more affordable option at the strong safety spot?

Let’s dive in…

Why Love should be back

It’s no secret that versatility is the name of the game for Love. He can play over the top as a cover safety. He can play in the box or come downhill to stop the run. He can also play corner, both in the slot and outside the numbers. That kind of versatility doesn’t grow on trees, and Love’s skill set makes him a dream come true for defensive coordinators.

Love has five career interceptions, including two in 2022, and also has 18 career pass breakups, two forced fumbles and 1.5 sacks to go along with 291 total tackles. Those may not be the flashiest numbers, but Love has been asked to do so many different things for three different defensive coordinators: James Bettcher, Patrick Graham, and Wink Martindale.

With the Giants making the playoffs (and winning a playoff game) this season, there’s a very strong chance that Martindale would be the Giants DC again next season, unless he’s hired away by another team to be a head coach. Love played well in Martindale’s system alongside Xavier McKinney, and another year of experience in the scheme should only help matters.

And beyond the numbers, Love has also proven himself to be extremely durable, playing no less than 15 games in each of his four seasons, including starting 16 games in 2022.

Why Love shouldn’t be back

If the Giants see Love primarily as a strong safety (and again, he can do so much more than that, but strong safety figures to be his spot when all things are even), the question is how much money the team is willing to spend on that spot.

In 2022, only 12 NFL safeties made $10 million. Only 20 made $8 million or more. Love could potentially be looking at a mid-level deal in the $6-7 million range (Spotrac lists his calculated market value at $7.9 million per season), and while that’s not necessarily breaking the bank, it’s a decent amount of money for a team that needs to improve in a lot of areas following years of poor cap management.

The Giants currently have $54 million in cap space for 2023, but keep in mind that the team has other key free agents that they could look to sign, like Jones, Barkley, and Sterling Shepard. Players like Darius Slayton and Oshane Ximines didn’t make much on their rookie contracts, but they’re also likely do for a nice pay bump with their next deals, either in New York or elsewhere. Big Blue has 18 players set to become UFAs, so they have some “difficult” roster decisions ahead, as GM Joe Schoen put it. And that’s not taking into account signing their draft class and any external free agents.

Another thing to keep in mind: McKinney is eligible for a new contract this offseason (though he’s under contract through 2023), and since he’s more of a ball-hawking free safety with six career interceptions already, he will likely also command a big deal for his second contract. How much money will the Giants be comfortable committing to the starting safety spots?

Verdict

Love certainly isn’t going to be priority No. 1 when it comes to internal free agents the Giants feel like they absolutely must bring back, but he’s a key piece of the defense and brings so much to the scheme.

Sure, the Giants could look to go with a more affordable option, like 2022 fourth-round pick Dane Belton -- who had two interceptions in five starts this season, filling in for McKinney -- but Love seems like a pivotal piece of what the Giants like to do, and he’ll be just 25 next season.

As long as Love doesn’t look for an above-market deal (in the $10 million range per season), the Giants would likely be happy to bring him back and have him continue to be a do-it-all player in the defensive secondary.