Justin Simmons expects to receive franchise tag from Broncos

Safety Justin Simmons is scheduled to become a free agent this March and realizes the Denver Broncos probably will put the franchise tag on him.

Free agency is right around the corner for the NFL and Denver Broncos free agent safety Justin Simmons, who is currently scheduled to hit the open market, might be staying in the Mile High City either way.

In an interview with Sirius XM NFL Radio, Simmons acknowledged that he expects the Broncos to use their franchise tag on him. This means that they would continue to hold the rights to Simmons.

Simmons also said in the interview that he is staying optimistic due to the team’s success of locking players up to long-term deals post-franchise tag.

According to OverTheCap.com, the projected tender for tagged safeties is $12,735,000. That is definitely a nice chunk of change, especially for just one season.

Of course, the ideal scenario would be the two sides coming to terms on a multi-year contract. Simmons is not a player that the Broncos can let go. His durability and effectiveness on the field is way too valuable.

Simmons has been very lucky when it comes to staying on the field. In 2019, he played in 99.72% of the team’s defensive plays. The year before, in 2018, Simmons played literally every defensive snap for the Broncos.

Since being drafted in 2016, Simmons has snatched 11 interceptions, with four in 2019, his career best. Of his 28 career passes defended, 15 of them came last season in the team’s first year in Vic Fangio’s defense.

Last year, Simmons recorded the second-most tackles of his NFL career, with 93. The year before, he had 97.

That is some incredible production from one player. It would be smart to lock Simmons up to a long-term contract when they can, even if it isn’t this offseason.

But Simmons is expecting the franchise tag and by the sounds of it, he is going absolutely nowhere.