Justin Simmons will not be hitting the open market. According to Ian Rapaport, the Denver Broncos have used the franchise tag on the safety. This will keep him with the team for at least one more year. Financial details are unknown at this time. Simmons has spent all four years of his career thus far with the Broncos.
The #Broncos have also administered the franchise tag to S Justin Simmons, source said, an expected move for a big part of their defense.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 13, 2020
Justin Simmons Gets Franchise Tagged
Justin Simmons had a strong season for the Broncos in 2019. He started all 16 games for the second straight year. He finished with 93 tackles (65 solo). Simmons also had career highs in both interceptions (four) and pass deflections (15). He had more deflections in 2019 than he had all three previous years of his career. As a result of his efforts, he was selected Second-Team All-Pro, his first major accolade in the league (though he did not play in the Pro Bowl).
Simmons played football in high school at Martin County High in Stuart, Florida. He then played in college with Boston College from 2012 to 2015. In his senior year he made the Second-Team All-ACC. In 2016 he was drafted late in the third round by the Broncos. He only started three games in his rookie year, but still managed to pull in two interceptions.
In 2017 he was promoted to starter, and in that capacity he recorded 68 tackles. In Week 13, he had his first career pick-six off of Jay Cutler. 2018 saw him all play all 16 games for the first time, and he also recorded 97 tackles which remains a career high. In a short amount of time, he’s become an integral part of the Broncos defense.
Through four years thus far, Simmons has recorded 288 tackles (210 solo), two sacks, 11 interceptions (with one returned for a touchdown), and 28 passes defensed. Since 2017, his interception number has gone up by one every year. He’ll try to keep that streak going in 2020.
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