Free agent safety Justin Simmons was on multiple teams’ radars last summer, but the two-time Pro Bowler wound up sitting out the entire season. Despite that, the 32-year-old has not closed the door on his career.
“I’m still a free agent, looking to play for a contender, and we’ll see where that ends up,” Simmons said on his new podcast, The Weekly Cut.
Simmons also wanted to join a contender last season, at which point he was coming off a one-year stint in Atlanta. No deal came together for the longtime Bronco, who spent his first eight years in Denver. The ball-hawking Simmons earned second-team All-Pro honors four times as a member of the Broncos, with whom he racked up an eye-opening 71 passes defensed and 30 interceptions over 118 games. He led the NFL in picks (six) in 2022.
Simmons’ fruitful run in Denver ended when the team released him in a cost-cutting move in March 2024. While Simmons sat on the open market for five months, the Falcons gave him a fully guaranteed $7.5MM a few weeks before the season began. Pairing with fellow standout safety Jessie Bates, the 6-foot-2, 202-pound Simmons registered a 91.37% defensive snap share over 16 starts. Simmons notched seven PDs and two picks, but Pro Football Focus ranked his performance just 68th among regulars at his position.
Even though he missed a year, Simmons is among the most accomplished unsigned safeties remaining as free agency nears the three-week mark. Simmons will not approach his previous payday if he lands anywhere, though, and a deal may not materialize until next month’s draft is in the books.
Eagles need a safety now more than ever, wonder why they’re not going after him.
Most teams trying to drive down prices by waiting til the draft. Niners need one too. But they need to get younger. RG and S in the first two rounds I guess…..
pogo, yeah maybe so. I do feel like we will draft a safety but do you feel like OL is more important than WR just because we signed Hollywood and Moore, like is that enough justifiable depth at the position? If we hadn’t signed Moore, I would’ve liked one of our first two picks to also be WR but now I feel like that’s not happening.
Taking the pressure off of the WR coming in is important. But a crowded camp can breed great competition. A healthy competition will boost the room. WR is usually a luxury pick for a contending team. Trenches get the focus. Pass happy as the NFL is WR and S feel like luxury picks except day 3. Better have the right guy if you pull the trigger early on those positions. Better be a starter in his readiness.
There’s gotta be something seriously wrong with his health. I was surprised we went and signed Epps instead of Simmons when Makuba went down. That kinda told me all I needed to now. I like Epps but if Simmons is truly healthy it would have made more sense to get him. His career might be over.
KC33, yeah I know, right? Exactly, Epps and J.T. Gray should never be enough, especially not after the Sydney Brown trade, and yet this supposed premier safety is still sitting in free agency. Epps is ok but I would rather him back up two starters or come into the rotation every now and then rather than start outright.
Exactly. Just makes me think Simmons must have a pretty serious injury issue or that his game really has dropped off worse than we know. I think we’ll be addressing the safety position in the draft for sure though
KC33, maybe. I haven’t seen anything about an injury, so maybe it’s an unreported injury or something that only NFL teams know that us fans don’t. I’m thinking it might be more of the “his game really has dropped off worse than we know” angle. That being said, I don’t think he did too badly in Atlanta when he last played, but idk maybe I don’t know any better. For sure, probably in the second round, if not first.