Denver Broncos News & Rumors

Talented Broncos safety Justin Simmons will play out the 2020 season under the franchise tag, as player and team were unable to come to terms on an extension prior to Wednesday’s deadline. Simmons was not alone in that regard, as only two of the league’s franchised players this year ended up signing long-term deals.

As Mike Klis of 9News.com writes, Denver put forth what it believed to be a competitive offer, a proposal that would have made Simmons one of the top five or six highest-paid safeties in the game. Currently, the Ravens’ Earl Thomas is the fifth-highest-paid safety in terms of AAV ($13.75MM), but the sixth-highest, the Patriots’ Devin McCourty, has an AAV of $11.5MM. Simmons’ franchise tender will pay him just shy of $11.5MM this year, so it could be that a long-term pact featuring a similar yearly average was not appealing to him.

Of course, it’s unclear how much the Broncos were offering in terms of guaranteed money, but Simmons was shooting for a top-of-the-market deal that would have paid him an average of roughly $15MM per year with around $30MM in guarantees. It does not sound like Denver was prepared to go that high, particularly in light of the current financial uncertainty.

Interestingly, negotiations between the two sides were always described as tension-free. Simmons said earlier this year that he was content to play on the tag, and when a deal was not reached by the deadline, Klis noted that Simmons and the Broncos “amicably agreed to disagree.”

But Simmons certainly seems annoyed that the did not get the deal he was hoping for. “If the Broncos wanted to get a deal done, they would’ve,” he said on today’s episode of Good Morning Football (link via Kevin Patra of NFL.com). “And so the reality is another year on the franchise tag is like a contract year all over again.”

The 26-year-old defender said he should be even better in his second year in head coach Vic Fangio‘s defensive scheme, and if he is, he will surely bring home a top-dollar deal in 2021. He graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 overall safety last season and led all safeties with 15 passes defensed. He also intercepted a career-high four passes.

After going 4-for-4 in extensions for franchise-tagged players during his GM tenure, John Elway will not finalize an agreement with the Broncos’ most recent tag recipient. This was the expectation. The sides are not believed to have been close on terms since they exchanged offers in April.

The Broncos and Justin Simmons amicably agreed to disagree Wednesday, per Mike Klis of 9News (on Twitter). Simmons will play the season on his $11.4MM tag price, joining Vikings safety Anthony Harris in that regard.

Denver had previously extended Matt Prater, Ryan Clady, Demaryius Thomas and Von Miller. While the team had not used the tag since Miller’s 2016 deadline-day deal, Elway identified Simmons as the team’s top in-house priority this offseason. Simmons has signed his tender and is on track to be at training camp for the Broncos.

Simmons, who graded as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 overall safety last season (behind Harris), emerged as the top player to come out of the Broncos’ 2016 draft class. Last season, the former third-round pick led all safeties with 15 passes defensed and intercepted a career-high four passes. The Broncos will now have two $11MM-per-year safeties, with Kareem Jackson entering the second season of his three-year, $33MM pact. Simmons stands to cost more. It is believed he wants to be paid north of $14MM per year. That is the new going rate for top safeties.

Minutes away from the tag deadline, only Chris Jones has finalized a deal. Derrick Henry and the Titans are on the doorstep, however. That will send the other 12 franchise-tagged players into the season on one-year deals.

2:47pm: While Simmons and the Broncos are engaged in discussions, they may be too far apart. The Broncos are not expected to give the fifth-year safety an extension by Wednesday’s deadline, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. And the Broncos’ recent efforts to extend Simmons may not have been extensive, with Mike Klis of 9News indicating (via Twitter) the sides have not progressed since April.

2:18pm: Thus far, just one of the 15 franchise- or transition-tagged players have signed an extension. But the Broncos are still trying to finalize a deal with Justin Simmons. The sides are in talks leading up to Wednesday’s deadline, James Palmer of NFL.com tweets.

The parties exchanged offers in April, but nothing much has transpired here since. But the Broncos have been known to reach 11th-hour extension agreements with tagged players. They extended Demaryius Thomas minutes before the 2015 deadline and re-upped Von Miller on deadline day the following summer. With the Broncos also extending Matt Prater (2012) and Ryan Clady (’13) after tagging them, they are 4-for-4 in this department under John Elway.

The 10th-year Broncos GM has said for months keeping Simmons was a top priority. The 26-year-old defender led all safeties with 15 passes defensed last season, when he finished as Pro Football Focus’ second-highest-graded safety.

Simmons has signed his tender, locking him into a $12.7MM 2020 payment. It is believed he wants to surpass $14MM per year on a long-term accord, which is the new standard for safeties. After 2018’s market dip, four safeties now top $14MM annually. The Bears’ Eddie Jackson, whose rise began under Broncos HC Vic Fangio, leads the pack at $14.6MM AAV.

Denver already has a highly paid safety in Kareem Jackson. The Broncos gave him a three-year, $33MM deal in 2019. However, that pact includes no guaranteed money beyond 2020. The Broncos have a team option on Jackson next year, so a Simmons extension may not overlap with his 32-year-old teammate’s for too long.