The Denver Broncos are putting the franchise tag on safety Justin Simmons for the second consecutive season, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Friday.
Simmons, who was poised to become an unrestricted free agent, will become the first player to be tagged out of season. The Broncos now have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal.
“Justin is one of our core people, and our goal since I got here has been to sign him to a long-term deal,” George Paton, Broncos CEO, said Thursday. “We had good talks with his agent. I don’t know if we’ll make a deal or not, but that’s our goal. He’s the type of guy we’d like to expand on. ‘
NFL teams have until 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday to place the franchise tag on their most valuable player.
Simmons, the third-round pick of the Broncos in the 2016 concept, played on the franchise player tag in 2020, worth $ 11.4 million. He finished with 96 tackles and five interceptions. It was his third consecutive season with 90 tackles. He has always been an active player in defending running down the line of scrimmage with the versatility to match with a variety of players in cover.
The 27-year-old has the combination of on-field performance and community engagement off the field as he has played every defensive snap for the past three seasons and was the Broncos’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man last season. of the year.
When Paton was hired in January, John Elway, Broncos football operations president, said trying to re-sign Simmons was “ one of the biggest things ” Paton had on his to-do list.
Simmons has always been one of the most active players in the community and one of the team’s leading voices in social justice initiatives.
He has won the Darrent Williams Good Guy Award, presented every season by the Denver division of the Pro Football Writers of America to a Broncos player to recognize professionalism and depth in interactions with the media. Simmons is the only three-time winner of the award since it began in 2006.
ESPN’s Jeff Legwold contributed to this report.