In this work, we use AP to test how projection methods affect the prediction of two properties important in the characterization of many transition metal complexes. This study gives particular attention to the importance of geometry optimization in such calculations. Specifically, we compare the AP predicted J-coupling and spin crossover gap values with those obtained by conventional broken-symmetry DFT and experiment. We also compare results obtained from different geometry optimization strategies. We show that spin projection can alter PESs and that addressing this consideration in geometry optimizations is beneficial for computational studies of systems affected by spin contamination.