2021 Broncos' Season, Off-Season Questions, Justin Simmons

 


For the Broncos, the off-season is here. George Paton was hired to serve as GM and Vic Fangio is staying as coach, but there are plenty of other questions to answer. As we head into the off-season, I'll be considering these topics each week.

And we get to one of the biggest questions, Justin Simmons. The safety has been a rock for the Broncos for the past five seasons. Following the end of his rookie year he played the 2020 season on the Franchise Tag. Now Paton is faced with trying to ink him to a long-term contract. And all Simmons did by betting on himself was improve his negotiating position.

Simmons has played a full 16 games the past three seasons, and in 2020 he put up a career high five Interceptions, adding a fumble recovery and 96 tackles. All that was good enough to land him in the Pro Bowl for the first time. And he's a key piece of keeping a strong secondary for Denver.

We'll get to the team's cornerback issues another day, but suffice to say losing Simmons would be a blow to the team at safety. Simmons and veteran Kareem Jackson have been anchors on the defense the past two seasons for Fangio, and there is little experience behind them. Jackson is entering the final year of a three-year deal, and comes with a non-guaranteed cap number of $10 million for the 2021 season. The Broncos could elect to move on from Jackson, something that would sit a lot better if the Broncos had locked up Simmons.

The Broncos have Chris Cooper, Alijah Holder and P.J. Locke under contract, and could bring back Trey Marshall and Will Parks, who has long been Simmons' running mate after being drafted together. But the big piece of the puzzle is Simmons.

There are plenty of off-season questions for Denver, but one of the biggest challenges for Paton will be trying to do what his predecessor could not, signing Simmons to a long-term deal.

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