Justin Simmons toiled long and hard on a losing Denver Broncos team. A 2016 third-round pick out of Boston College, the only 'winning' season Simmons experienced as a Bronco over his eight-year stint was his rookie season, where the team went 9-7 in Gary Kubiak's final campaign as head coach.
That 2016 Broncos squad finished above .500, but still missed the playoffs. When Sean Payton arrived as head coach in 2023, the Broncos' prospects began looking up. There was just one problem: the Russell Wilson albatross.
Payton gave it the old college try with Wilson in 2023, improving the Broncos' win total by three games over the previous regime, but an 8-9 finish saw the team miss the playoffs for the eighth straight year. However, at least Simmons got to be part of a Broncos squad that finally defeated the Kansas City Chiefs that year.
Following the 2023 campaign, the Broncos released Wilson, which came with an $85 million dead-money charge to the salary cap and precipitated multiple cap casualties as a result. The Broncos had to get skinny, and Simmons was on the losing end, as the only NFL team he'd known released him in the spring of 2024.
However, Simmons doesn't hold a grudge — not with Payton or the Walton-Penner ownership group.
“I mean, I can’t speak for Sean (Payton),” Simmons said via The Denver Post's Sean Keller. “I have no bad blood with Sean, with anyone in the building. I loved my time there. I will always consider him a friend and a great coach."
In fact, Simmons loved Payton and the Walton-Penner group. The veteran safety understood the business side of the NFL and the collateral damage of the Wilson release.
“I loved Sean. I love the Walton-Penner group and what they have going on. Business decisions happen," Simmons said via Keller. "And sometimes there are casualties, where both player and fans wish there wasn’t and (there) just is. And both sides could be better from it — and you see they had a successful year. And I’m so happy for them.”
It had to be a bitter pill to see the Broncos win double-digit games and make the playoffs the very next season after Simmons was released. He would go on to sign with the Atlanta Falcons, returning to Mile High in Week 11 to suffer a 38-6 beatdown at the hands of rookie quarterback Bo Nix.
As a player who not only lived through the post-Super Bowl 50 depredations, but also a veteran who played for Payton in 2023, Simmons has a unique view on what had changed for the 2024 Broncos and why they were able to achieve what no previous iteration could over the preceding eight years.
“That’s a really good question. I mean, even when I played against them and I’m watching a film, I just felt, and this is no shade at anyone — I feel when you have a team that is young, and you can mold, they buy in a lot faster than guys that are older and have seen it and have done things differently for however long that is," Simmons told Keller. "Right? And so people can take that how they’re going to take it. It’s not a shot at anyone, but the guys bought in."
There's no doubt that the young 2024 Broncos "bought in" to Payton's program. The consequences of the Wilson release meant that the Broncos had to not only find a new quarterback, but they also had to get skinny on the cap, and rely on the youth of their roster.
Such an approach born of desperation has the potential to backfire and fail. We've seen it time and time again in the NFL. But thanks to Payton's experienced stewardship and the fortunate drafting of Nix at No. 12 overall, the Broncos were able to overcome all of the typical obstacles that would have torpedoed lesser teams.
“Sean is an amazing coach. And when you have that combination, good things happen. Not all the time, right? But good things tend to happen," Simmons told Keller. "And so I think last year was just a byproduct of the team buying in. That showed up in a lot of their games.”
Keller's article on Simmons is very illuminating, and I encourage everyone to read it. One last thing Simmons told Keller that I'll analyze here is his opinion of Nix. Once again, Simmons is a guy qualified to assert a take on Nix, as he competed against him in Week 11.
“When the head of the ship feels confident and is ready to lead and is projecting that … the rest of the guys follow suit,” Simmons said on the Nix subject. “It’s just a marriage. And I think with Sean and Bo, the marriage right now is just flowing great. They both get each other. They both understand each other. And they’re both in each other’s corner. It makes for hopefully continued success, year after year after year.”
Simmons also said some interesting things about the Broncos' two free-agent signings on defense — safety Talanoa Hufanga and linebacker Dre Greenlaw. Simmons also told Keller that he wants to one day retire as a Bronco, though that time won't be "anytime soon."
Simmons could retire today and he'd finish his career as one of the most decorated safeties in Broncos history, which is saying something, considering the number of all-timers who have worn the Orange and Blue down through the decades.
As a Bronco, Simmons was a two-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro. His 30 interceptions rank sixth all-time with the club, and he co-led the NFL in interceptions in 2022 (with six).
Recommended Articles
Beyond his impact on the field, what Simmons delivered to the community off of it was just as remarkable, with the Justin Simmons Foundation, which continues to be based in Castle Pines. He's a great leader and to this day, is missed by Broncos Country.
