The Giants saw Eli Manning retire this past winter, ending a 16-year run. The other Giants passer to be named Super Bowl MVP did not receive the same sendoff. Phil Simms‘ 15-season stay in New York ended 26 years ago today when the Giants released him.
Although Simms had reclaimed his starting job and led the Giants to the 1993 playoffs — en route to his second Pro Bowl — the team released him due to salary cap concerns on June 16, 1994. The ’94 offseason marked the first time NFL teams had to navigate a salary cap, which debuted at $34.6MM. Simms was set to earn $2.32MM in ’94, which would have been his 16th NFL season. The then-38-year-old quarterback was also coming off offseason shoulder surgery.
Simms and Jeff Hostetler had split time in 1991 and ’92, with the latter winning New York’s QB1 job in 1991 after replacing an injured Simms late in the Giants’ 1990 Super Bowl-winning season. Simms started four games in ’92 but suffered a season-ending injury. However, the Giants let Hostetler sign with the Raiders in 1993 and reinstalled Simms as their starter. He started all 16 games, and the Giants came within an iconic Week 18 Emmitt Smith performance of earning home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs. The Giants ended up beating the Vikings in the wild-card round before losing to the 49ers — in what would turn out to be the final NFL game for Simms and Lawrence Taylor — a week later.
“When the decision was made I said, ‘Oh my God.’ Afterward when I was driving home I was still kind of shocked and it was like I didn’t know what had happened,” Simms said of the release at the time. “I can honestly say I was not prepared for it.”
Current Giants co-owner John Mara said his father, Hall of Famer Wellington Mara, was against Hall of Fame GM George Young‘s decision to cut Simms. But the team made the move and handed the reins to 1992 first-round supplemental draft pick Dave Brown. He started the next three seasons for the Giants — who missed the playoffs in each of those slates — with Kent Graham and Danny Kanell then bridging the gap to 1999 free agency addition Kerry Collins.
Simms later said three teams submitted offers for him to continue his career. While he ultimately retired, Simms visited the Browns — then coached by former Giants defensive coordinator Bill Belichick — in 1995. The eventual 20-plus-year TV analyst stayed retired. The Super Bowl XXI MVP, Simms ranks behind only Manning in passing yards (33,462) and touchdown passes (199) in Giants history.
I really do enjoy these little flashbacks. Keep’em coming!! And by the way, I am now an official ProFootballRumors follower. I am no longer following the political Football trap called NFLTalk. I got tired of Florio’s know-it-all lawyer-speak. Ugh.
Agreed! Glorious is a pompous windbag.
Florio is hardly glorious!
That’s why I’m here, too.
They should have kept Hostetler
Also this date in transaction history…. Phil Simms is now hired as the worst color commentator in the history of broadcasting!
Unfortunately, he didn’t have the same kind of defense in the booth that he had with him on the field. He could’ve used it.
Finally something everyone on this board can agree with.
Sims had a 29.4 passer rating in that final game against the Niners so it was clearly time to move on.
More overrated NY quarterback: Namath or Simms? It seems everyone berates Manning, but these passers were much more underwhelming. Simms was obviously better statistically, but I’m willing to give Namath a pass given he played in such a run-dominant and ruthless era. However, when your td:int ratio is greater on the latter end, that’s a problem. At the very least, he certainly didn’t deserve MVP. Simms was certainly a solid quarterback, but he’s nowhere near the status of Fouts and Marino. Sure, neither won on the big stage, but their talent level was vastly superior to that of Simms
Namath by a mile. I don’t think anyone rates Simms especially high (no one would put him anywhere near Fouts or Marino). Namath is in the Hall of Fame despite a 50% completion percentage and a 173-220 TD-INT ratio.
Yeah, this debate was a bit of a stretch. Just trying to have some fun. I don’t understand how anyone could justify Namath’s MVP award. Sure, it was audacious and impressive to guarantee a win against the undefeated Colts, but he was hardly the difference. Matt Snell rumbled for 121 yards and a score, while the defense intercepted Unitas/Morrall FOUR times
To me Namath is mostly a symbolic figure used to represent the upstart AFL. The AFL actually beat the NFL in their decade long war and forced the merger that would ultimately benefit both. I see his MVP award as a way of extending respect to all those AFL players that never got the respect they really deserved during the 1960s.
So Simms won 2 Super Bowls…actually only playing in 1 but getting the team into position in the second…..exactly how many does Fouts and Marino have?
19 team records, 199 TD’s in the NFC where defense was actually played unlike Fouts Chargers or Marino’s Dolphins, epic battles with the 49’ers and Cowboys and and you and cross-eyed what’s him name talk about Simms as if he’s a bum….and even with a couple three seasons when he was hurt still outgrew Namath by over 5,000 yds…..and as far as defense, even with Taylor, the Giants weren’t shutting every opponent out so the offense did have to win games….try checking out the facts before commenting as if you know something you obviously have a weak knowledge of….this isn’t sports talk radio!