ENGLEWOOD, Colo — The first game safety Justin Simmons missed last season because of a groin injury the Denver defense surrendered 70 points and 726 yards to Miami.
The second game he missed the Denver Broncos gave up 28 points to Justin Fields and the Chicago Bears before the start of the fourth quarter, to go along with 471 total yards.
In the 15 games Simmons did play, the Denver D allowed just 20.3 points per game, which would have projected out to 10th-best in the league.
And there has been speculation Simmons might be one of the Broncos’ salary cap casualties this offseason? It can’t be true. What is true is the well-decorated Simmons is now 30 years old and his $14.5 million salary for 2024 is non-guaranteed. And there’s no doubt the Broncos will be in cap purgatory as the expected departure of quarterback Russell Wilson will mean slashing around $50 million in cap dollars from various parts of their roster.
But unless the Broncos are committed to a complete rebuild – and it’s unlikely owner Greg Penner and head coach Sean Payton signed up for such a miserable experience – the answer is to re-do Simmons’ contract in a manner that he returns for 2024.
Make no mistake, a Wilson cap fallout would have the potential to affect every position on the Broncos’ roster. Including safety.
Besides the possibility of adjusting Simmons’ contract, the team’s other starting safety, P.J. Locke, is about to hit unrestricted free agency. Locke, who has terrific range and instincts, proved to be an upgrade from the oft-disciplined Kareem Jackson in the second half of last season. Locke also exemplified dedication by making a 40-hour, 2,500-mile roundtrip journey by RV to play against the Detroit Lions after he was not cleared to fly because of complications from a throat injury.
The Broncos would love to bring Locke back. But after Locke played for $1.4 million in his fifth season of 2023, would the Broncos love him at his market price of $4 million to $6 million as a sixth-year player who has yet to play a 17-game season?
Caden Sterns is another safety capable of starting but he suffered season-ending injuries early in the past two seasons. JL Skinner, a tall, sixth-round rookie last year, didn’t participate on-field during the Broncos’ offseason program last year because of a torn pec injury and he was limited to just two games of special teams.
Second-year safety Dellarin Turner-Yell is a strong tackler who started the two games in place of Simmons last year but he still needs work on pass-run recognition.
So the Broncos have young talent surrounding the experienced Simmons at the safety position. But can they be counted on over a 17-game season?
There will be good depth in this year’s free-agent safety class, which now includes the recently released Eddie Jackson. This also means there will be decent safeties in the second wave of free agency where the Broncos figure to be shopping. This group includes Darnell Savage, Tashaun Gipson, Mike Edwards, C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Jeremy Chinn.
The Broncos brought in all their college and pro scouts to team headquarters last week to go over reports on all the free agents and college players. The entire football staff will reconvene next week in Indianapolis for the NFL Combine.
For the first time in a while, the Broncos showed marked improvement in 2023. But to keep that arrow pointing up, the team must make correct decisions on 15, 20, maybe 30 players this offseason. Including those at their safety position.
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