Justin Simmons

The Broncos placed the franchise tag on safety Justin Simmons last month, and it sounds like things could be progressing toward a long-term deal.

Speaking to local Denver media ahead of the draft, GM John Elway said the two sides were in “active negotiations,” per Mike Klis of Denver 9 News. “We’re in negotiations right now,’’ Elway said. “We’ve given them [an] offer and they gave us an offer back,” he revealed. Simmons is currently set to make $12.7MM under the tag in 2020, and the sides have until July 15th to hammer out an extension.

The Bears’ Eddie Jackson is currently the league’s highest-paid safety at $14.6MM annually, and it’s likely that Simmons is looking to eclipse that. Klis thinks he’ll end up somewhere close to $14MM. The Broncos already have fellow safety Kareem Jackson on a three-year, $33MM deal, so they’re going to have an expensive safety duo no matter what.

Simmons had a breakout season in 2019, when he started all 16 games for the second year in a row. He picked off four passes and batted down another 15, earning Pro Football Focus’ highest grade for any safety. The Boston College product turned 26 in November.

No surprise here. On Tuesday, Broncos GM John Elway said that he’ll use the franchise tag on safety Justin Simmons if he can’t reach a long-term pact with safety Justin Simmons (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). 

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Simmons has already said that he’s expecting to be tagged, though he’s optimistic about the one-year cuff leading to a multi-year agreement. As our own Sam Robinson noted earlier this week, Elway has used the tag four times during his tenure in order to keep kicker Matt Prater (2012), tackle Ryan Clady (2013), wide receiver Demaryius Thomas (2015), and edge rusher Von Miller (2016). Every time, the Broncos were able to follow up and hammer out a longer contract.

The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus pegged Simmons as the second-best safety in the NFL last year. He’s still only 26 and he has a case to be paid as one of the top players at his position.

Last year, Simmons registered a career-high four interceptions to go along with 15 passes defensed and 93 total tackles. For his part, Simmons wants to stay put.

John Elway said in December he does not plan to let Justin Simmons walk, and nothing appears to have changed on this front as free agency nears. The Broncos safety expects to receive the franchise tag. After the CBA-related delay, the tag window is set to open Feb. 27 and close March 12.

“We expect to get franchise-tagged,” Simmons said during an interview with Sirius XM Radio’s Bruce Murray and Brady Quinn (via NFL.com). “We’re kind of sitting on the optimistic side of things, just because in the past when the Broncos have used the tag and Elway’s used it, they’ve always worked out a long-term deal.”

Simmons would be the fifth Broncos tag in Elway’s GM era, following Matt Prater (2012), Ryan Clady (2013), Demaryius Thomas (2015) and Von Miller (2016). All four signed extensions before the mid-July deadline. With Simmons being one of Elway’s top draft picks — chosen 98th overall in 2016 — it seems a near-certainty the Boston College alum will be tagged if the sides cannot come to an extension agreement by March 12.

A safety tag is expected to cost nearly $13MM. But the safety market reawakened in 2019, with Landon Collins, Tyrann Mathieu, Kevin Byard and Eddie Jackson moving the bar past the $14MM-per-year point. While Simmons has no Pro Bowls on his resume, he finished last season as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 overall safety and led all safeties with 15 passes defensed.

The Broncos are projected to hold $62MM-plus in cap space — sixth-most in the league. Although they already have a $12MM-AAV deal in place at safety, having signed Kareem Jackson last year and moved him from cornerback to safety, that contract only features one more season of guaranteed money. At 26, Simmons is five years younger than Jackson. An extension for the former will run beyond the life of Jackson’s pact, which goes through 2021.

Though both sides want to get a deal done, contract talks between safety Justin Simmons and the Broncos have yet to become serious, as Mike Klis of 9News.com reports. The franchise tag remains a possibility, and Simmons has indicated that he would be open to playing out the 2020 season under the tag.

Either way, he stands to make a handsome raise over the $2.025MM he pocketed in 2019, the final year of his rookie deal. The franchise tag is estimated to check in at $12.735MM, and Simmons would probably earn at least that much on a yearly basis if he and Denver can come to terms on a long-term pact.

Simmons and the Broncos engaged in extension talks before the 2019 season started, but the former third-round pick bet on himself and won. He notched a career-high four interceptions to go along with 15 passes defensed and 93 total tackles. He also provides the type of versatility that head coach Vic Fangio covets, which allowed him to play every single defensive snap for the second consecutive year.

Interestingly, Simmons’ former agent with Creative Artists Agency, Rich Hurtado, was recently hired by Broncos GM John Elway and was put in charge of the team’s salary cap and contract negotiations. So Hurtado, who advocated for Simmons in his earlier contract negotiations, is now on the opposite side of the table, but Simmons is not concerned. He expressed his excitement for Hurtado and reiterated his desire to stay in Denver for the foreseeable future.

“Obviously, we’d like to get a long-term deal done and speaking with Elway and all the guys there, they’re great and I love the system,” he said. “I think the system fits for both parties — for myself and for [Fangio].”

In addition to Simmons, Elway will also need to figure out what to do with a number of other key defensive players who are eligible for free agency, like Chris Harris, Derek Wolfe, and Shelby Harris.

Justin Simmons has delivered a strong contract year for the Broncos and is set to be one of the 2020 free agent market’s top safeties. But both sides would prefer the fourth-year defender does not reach the market.

John Elway said Tuesday during a radio interview with KOA Radio the team plans to retain Simmons, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic (on Twitter). Whether that means via franchise tag or long-term commitment, the Broncos do not want to lose one of their best draft investments since the Super Bowl years.

Simmons and the Broncos engaged in extension talks before the season started, but the former third-round pick bet on himself this season. That’s worked out, with Simmons notching a career-high four interceptions and 14 passes defensed (tops among safeties this season). The Boston College product made it clear he would like to stay in Denver.

“I’d love to be here; this is home,” Simmons said, via Jhabvala (Twitter link). “… Being able to come in and earn the starting spot and kind of solidify that, it’s just been great. I just hope, with that being said, it works out on both ends. Because obviously I’d love to stay, and I’ve built so many great relationships.”

To keep Simmons off the market, it will probably take an eight-figure-per-year offer. The Broncos already have a top-market safety contract on their books in the $11MM-AAV deal they gave to Kareem Jackson this year. Jackson’s deal was initially categorized as a mid-level cornerback pact, but the team moved him to safety. Jackson’s contract is only guaranteed through 2020.

The Broncos also have their franchise tag as an option; a safety tag is projected to cost approximately $11.5MM. Re-upping Simmons in advance of his age-27 season would help matters for a defense that has several key contributors as free agents-to-be. Standout cornerback Chris Harris joins defensive end starters Derek Wolfe and Shelby Harris as players set to hit the market.

The Broncos and starting free safety Justin Simmons briefly engaged in contract talks before the regular season started but have since tabled them, as Ryan O’Halloran of the Denver Post writes. Simmons is eligible for free agency in March, and he previously stated that he would like to remain in Denver on a long-term basis.

It sounds as if the two sides could reopen talks at any time. GM John Elway has made a habit of hammering out extensions with players in-season, and with seven current starters playing out their contract years, it makes sense for Elway to use some of the $13.6MM in cap space created by Joe Flacco‘s recent restructure to take care of one or two of those players before the season ends.

Elway and new head coach Vic Fangio are fans of Simmons, who may not be a household name but who is a young and promising talent with the type of versatility that Fangio prioritizes. The 2016 third-rounder was one of just three players in the league to play all of his club’s defensive snaps in 2018, and he has posted seven interceptions in his brief career.

With respect to getting a deal done during the season, Simmons said, “[w]e’ll see where we’re at (later in the season) and if something is going to get done, it will. If not, we’ll see where we’re at after the season. Not worried about it.”