As the Denver Broncos prepare for the start of NFL free agency, the future of star safety Justin Simmons will be discussed.
Simmons is set to have a salary cap hit of $18.25 million in 2024. The Broncos could save $14.5 million by releasing him, but that seems extremely unlikely. Denver might attempt to restructure the safety’s contract, and another (less popular) option might be considered as well: a trade.
Simmons has just one year left remaining on his current contract and it’s hard to imagine the Broncos truly contending for a Super Bowl during that one-year window.
Denver could give Simmons an extension to avoid losing him to free agency in 2025, but the team is already in a salary cap pinch and it might not be wise to give a multi-year extension to a player set to turn 32 during the 2025 season.
If the Broncos are going into a rebuilding phase, freeing up salary cap space and gaining extra draft capital by trading Simmons while he still has trade value might be a prudent move. It wouldn’t be an easy decision — Simmons is a great player and by all accounts an even better person — but it might be the best move for the long-term project in Denver.
The NFL’s new league year is set to begin on March 13. Teams can tentatively agree to trades before then, but no 2024 trades can become official until that date.
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