DENVER — After losing Justin Simmons, P.J. Locke became a high priority for the Broncos among their own free agent players.
The Broncos got it done with Locke on Saturday night, reaching agreement with the safety on a two-year, $7 million contract, sources told 9NEWS.
Locke, who turned 27 last month, was undrafted out of Texas in 2019. He initially signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers but was waived prior to training camp. Matt Russell, the Broncos' director of player personnel, signed Locke in December 2019 to the practice squad.
Locke wound up playing 15 games in his second season of 2020, mostly as a special teamer, a role he repeated over 16 games in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons. He also played some backup safety in 2022, then broke out as a starter for the second half of the recently completed 2023 season as a replacement for the suspended Kareem Jackson.
Kareem never got his job back. Locke had a game-clinching interception against Green Bay's Jordan Love in game 7, and later became the first safety in the Broncos' great history of safeties to have a sack in three straight games.
After suffering a throat injury that resulted in complications following a win at the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 10, Locke was told by doctors he shouldn't fly with the team on their following week's road trip to Detroit. Locke showed remarkable dedication by taking a 20-hour drive by RV to Detroit, played in the game, then took the 20-hour RV ride back home.
His breakout year in 2023 was great timing as Locke had pretty much played on minimum salaries until attaining the leverage of unrestricted free agency come Monday's negotiating period. The Broncos released Jackson late last season in large part because of Locke's rise as a starting-caliber player and the team followed it up this week by releasing Simmons, a seven-year starter at the position.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Sports
