Broncos trade possibility with Eagles just became realistic

Over the last handful of years, the Denver Broncos have become somewhat of a pipeline for the Philadelphia Eagles. It doesn't matter if we're talking about the front office (Matt Russell), coaching staff (Vic Fangio, Christian Parker), or player personnel (Albert Okwuegbunam), there are a lot of former Denver Broncos now working in Philadelphia. And that trend could continue in the very near future.

The Denver Broncos are estimated to be $16-19 million over the 2024 salary cap depending on if you reference OverTheCap or Spotrac. They are going to need to make moves in the next two weeks to get salary cap compliant by the start of the new league year on March 13. As much as everyone would hate to see him go, the idea of Justin Simmons getting traded to the Philadelphia Eagles makes a ton of sense, especially after the move the Eagles just made...

Kevin Byard release paves the way for Justin Simmons to the Eagles?

It's unfortunate for both the Eagles and Byard that the trade between the Eagles and Titans didn't yield more long-term results. Byard has been one of the best ballhawks in the NFL over the last handful of years, but truthfully, nobody has been better at creating takeaways than Broncos safety Justin Simmons.

Simmons is playing as well as ever. He has a base salary this season of $15 million and a salary cap hit of $18.5 million, the final year of his contract with the team. There is no guaranteed money left on Simmons' deal, so the Broncos have somewhat reached a crossroads with him.

Is there value to keeping Simmons on the roster for 2024? Absolutely. The guy is a machine at this point, and he's the type of veteran that you want to build your locker room culture around.

But how much are the Broncos going to weigh one year of Justin Simmons at $15 million in salary versus the potential of getting something of serious value in a trade? I don't know that the Broncos could get a second-round pick from the Eagles for Simmons, but Philly does have a pair of second-round picks...

The Eagles will almost undoubtedly be motivated to trade for Simmons, especially if the Broncos are potentially willing to eat some of his salary. Howie Roseman -- the GM of the Eagles -- is historically one of the most aggressive GMs in the NFL trade market. He now has Vic Fangio leading his team's defense, and Fangio is going to need players to communicate his defense as coaches on the field.

It's probably safe to say that Fangio may not be able to recruit Simmons on his own, but that's where the presence of Christian Parker as the Eagles' new defensive backs coach and passing game coordinator could come into play. Every Broncos defensive back absolutely loves Christian Parker, an ascending coach who is likely a future NFL defensive coordinator.

The Eagles are going to be desperate to upgrade their defense. They already have proven that by stealing Fangio from the Miami Dolphins. And with Fangio coming in, you know he's going to have some significant say in player personnel. Getting a playmaker like Justin Simmons could help revive an Eagles defense that was so good in 2022 and the worst pass defense in the league in 2023.

If the value is there, it could make sense for the Broncos to take the $14.5 million in savings and draft pick compensation where they could go to free agency and a deep crop of safeties.

Again, nobody in Broncos Country wants to see Justin Simmons traded. Especially if the team is going to turn things around, you want to see Simmons be part of that. But as bad as the Broncos have been in recent years, no player can be off-limits. And frankly, Simmons might want to go out to a place like Philadelphia where that team is maybe the best in the NFC. It might guarantee him a ticket to the postseason in 2024.

After the Kevin Byard release, as well as the Eagles bringing in Fangio and Parker this offseason, you can't help but wonder if Justin Simmons could be on his way next.