The Denver Broncos need to find a way to acquire more draft capital this offseason. Them not picking until the third round is not good enough, and General Manager George Paton has said how much he values draft picks.
It's easy to see how the team could make the argument to trade a key player. There is an idea I've seen floating around that the Broncos should "take from the defense to fix the offense." And it makes sense when you think about it.
The Broncos' defense was one of the best in the NFL last year and has some very good players. Don't we think that the team could afford to lose a player or two if it meant that the offense improved and the team become more balanced as a result?
To me, it makes perfect sense, and the player I am talking about is Justin Simmons, who has been with the team since 2016. Simmons has been one of the very best safeties in the NFL for years now and signed a massive contract extension a couple of offseasons ago.
My main concerns with Simmons are his age as he'll turn 30 years old in 2023. He also did miss a good bit of time this past year as well. Secondly, his cap hit is over $18 million this year for the second year in a row, and the Broncos could save over $14 million by trading the player.
Then, we'd have to think about what kind of return they could get for Simmons. Perhaps a second-round pick would be the asking price. To me, that seems mostly fair. Simmons isn't going to be on the Denver Broncos forever, and he's got two more years left on his deal.
In all likelihood, Justin Simmons finishes out his contract with the team at the very least, but the idea of Denver getting picks for an aging safety makes some sense as well.