After slapping a one-year franchise tag on free safety Justin Simmons in March, the Denver Broncos hope to reach a long-term contract agreement with the 26-year-old defensive back this offseason.
Broncos general manager John Elway confirmed during a pre-draft Zoom conference call with reporters Monday that the team has already begun negotiating a multi-year extension with Simmons.
“We’re in negotiations right now,” Elway said. “We’ve given them [him and his agent] an offer they gave us an offer back so we’re now in active negotiations with Justin.”
Denver currently has 79 players under contract with approximately $16.8 million in salary cap space, according to a projection from Spotrac.com. That projection includes the $11.441 million salary cap hit that Simmons is scheduled to have if he plays on the franchise tag in 2020.
Simmons’ market value is estimated to be about $14.4 million, according to Spotrac. That’s just $3 million more than his current cap hit for this season.
Simmons, 26, totaled 93 tackles and four interceptions last season.
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