Denver Broncos: Players who could be traded if team is a seller

2. Justin Simmons, S

Let me just preface this by saying that I don’t believe the Denver Broncos should trade Justin Simmons.

This is not a campaign for them to trade him.

The reason Simmons is on this list is fairly simple — the Broncos have a losing record, Simmons is not under contract after this year, and he could probably bring in the biggest return in terms of draft compensation of any player realistically available on the roster.

Simmons is just 26 years old, acquiring him for the remainder of 2020 would cost some team less than $6 million in base salary, and he’s going to net someone at least a third-round compensatory pick if he goes elsewhere in free agency.

Because of that, the Broncos should not even entertain offers for less than a second-round pick, but would a team pay that much to get Simmons for half a season and perhaps a playoff run?

Maybe.

Any acquiring team would also have the option of franchise tagging Simmons after the year, just like the Broncos currently do.

Again, this is not something the Broncos should do. Their focus should be on re-signing Simmons as soon as they are able to, but they have already passed on that opportunity once before. That alone makes you wonder…