If I was a matchmaker and four-time All-Pro free agent safety Justin Simmons hired me to help find him some NFL love, the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills would be two teams I’d coordinate a meet and greet with but I’d probably swipe left on the Kansas City Chiefs.
But it’s going to be May soon and Simmons might still be single. Last off-season, the four-time All-Pro didn’t hook-up with the Falcons until Aug. 18, midway through training camp. Simmons is a free agent once again this off-season after completing his one-year deal with Atlanta and this time around he would like to sign with a team a little earlier.
“I mean, that’s always the goal,” Simmons said in an interview with Kay Adams on her podcast this past Tuesday Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams! “I think — yes, there’s pros and cons to training camp. Cons would be going through it, your body breaking down, the whole nine — especially as you get older. But, I mean, a lot of the pros is building that rapport, especially when you’re not with the team and you haven’t necessarily played with a lot of those guys. So, I think it would’ve benefited me to go a little bit earlier. But it also just wasn’t in the cards. I think Atlanta has a great young safety in DeMarcco Hellams and I liked Richie Grant’s game a lot. So, at the time, could they have added a veteran? Yeah. Were they looking to? Maybe not. Then a couple of guys go down in camp and it’s like, ‘OK, we’ve got to add someone.’ Then your number’s called, it’s time to go.
Simmons appeared in 16 games last season for the Falcons and tallied 62 tackles, two for loss, two interceptions and recorded seven passes defensed. but once again might have to play the waiting game.
The one-year stint with the Falcons followed eight solid seasons with the Denver Broncos. But those eight seasons began the year after Denver won their last Super Bowl and Simmons hasn’t sniffed the postseason since he was drafted in the third round by the Broncos in 2016. He was named All-Pro in 2019 and 2021-2023 and now wants to play for a contender.
Swiped Right
On Adams’ podcast Simmons openly campaigned for a few of his preferred destinations. The three teams he swiped right on were the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, all of whom he said “it would be special” to play for.
The NFL draft is coming up in two weeks and the value of the deals handed out are taken into account in a formula when determining compensation draft picks. The Eagles could easily sign him, but he may end up getting paid enough to hurt the team’s comp pick formula. The earliest Simmons will likely find a new home is April 29, which is when unrestricted free agents no longer qualify for the compensatory pick formula, meaning his new team wouldn’t have to surrender a future pick to Atlanta after signing him. So, the Eagles, along with other teams might be waiting until after the draft to tender Simmons an offer just in case you were wondering why he is still on the open market.
Just Say No to the Chiefs
In that same podcast Simmons did mention one team that he’d prefer not to play for – the three-time defending AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs, who were his longtime AFC West division rival when he played in Denver.
“Am I shutting that door? Am I closing it? No, but I want to be the team that beats them,” Simmons told Adams. “I’m not closing that door. I’m not that incompetent to think if Kansas City wanted me to come through, I wouldn’t, but I just want to beat them, man.”
Hello Vic!
Simmons has played nine seasons in the NFL without tasting the postseason, something he hungers for. The 31-year-old safety is looking for some action and wants to go to a contender and in Philly, Simmons would have a head start because he played for Birds’ defensive coordinator Vic Fangio when both were in Denver.
Simmons said on that podcast, “Going to Philly with Vic, you know exactly what you’re getting out of me, and I know exactly what I’m getting out of them because I’ve been in the system. I still have a ways to go to mastering it, but there are some things and nuances that I know Vic likes, that I know that defensive backs coach Christian Parker likes, and I think I could really help in that area. Obviously, them moving on from C.J. and what he’s poured into that city there is big shoes to fill, but I love what they have going with Reed Blankenship and the rest of the supporting cast there. So, I don’t know, it’s interesting. I’m excited to see what happens.”
Simmons also threw in the Cincinnati Bengals as a destination where he could help and with Buffalo poised to make a deep playoff run one of these years, Simmons expressed interest in playing for Bills head coach Sean McDermott. However, Buffalo’s safety room currently features Taylor Rapp, Cole Bishop, Darrick Forrest and Damar Hamlin. If the Bills don’t add another safety in the draft, the team could call Simmons but the Bills’ depth chart at safety is already pretty crowded.
In Vic Fangio’s system Simmons would definitely see more playing time as the Birds are bereft of their S1 because of a trade they made last month with the Texans that sent C.J. Gardner-Johnson to Houston in exchange for guard Kenyon Green and a draft swap.
