The Denver Broncos have two players locked in at both safety positions in Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson. Unfortunately, Jackson is getting up in age, which makes one have to wonder what’s next at strong safety.
Jackson appears to be on a yearly one-year deal at this point in his career. At 34-years old, he has stated that he would like to play one or two more years. Jackson is set to become an unrestricted free agent in mid-March. While I’m all for bringing him back, it’s important for the team to look to the future.
A question that the team has to ask themselves is whether or not Caden Sterns is ready to step up into an even bigger role. Sterns has impressed in limited action with Jackson manning down the primary strong safety spot but Sterns could be ready to fill in full-time if that’s the direction the team wants to go.
Another possibility is that the team ends up saving some money by not re-signing Dre’Mont Jones, therefore paving the way to potentially sign a guy like Vonn Bell.
Recently, NFL network’s Nick Shook linked one free agent to every NFL team, giving the Buffalo Bills Dalton Risner and the Denver Broncos Vonn Bell. Bell is just 28-years old and could still be an effective player in the secondary.
I think this move could potentially be a really good one because Bell has played for current Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton when he was drafted by the New Orleans Saints back in 2016.
Bell has played in most of the games of his NFL career, missing just three in 2016 and one in 2022. To have that type of versatility and health as an NFL player is outstanding and is one thing that I personally look for in free agents or trade targets. The Denver Broncos have had too many injuries to even count as of late.
Bell could improve on his interception rate, as he only surpassed one interception ina season one time—last year, when he had four. But if that doesn’t happen, I would just hope that he can be a leader in the defensive backfield and a communicator with Justin Simmons.