Show him the money. Broncos safety has earned it.
With the clock running on what time remains of the 2019 NFL season, the top item on ’s to-do list should be signing Simmons to a new long-term deal, before one of the team’s emerging leaders is tempted to leave Denver as a free agent.
With difficult roster decisions in the offing, the Broncos must retain Simmons. Keeping him won’t be cheap. But he’s worth every penny of four years and $48 million. Letting Simmons go is a mistake Elway cannot afford.
In a season to forget, Simmons made the one play we should all remember. Instead of fading in the fourth quarter, with nothing more to show for their effort than a frustrating loss wrapped in excuses, it was the one time the Broncos made a stand.
And how often have the Broncos blown a fourth-quarter lead?
Well, rather than endure flashbacks to those woulda, shoulda, coulda losses to Chicago, Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Minnesota, letap toast the sweetest defensive play of this season.
Simmons was the hero when he gambled and came up big in the clutch, the way linebacker did back when the Vonster was about more than merely having fun in defeat and taking teammates out to dinner to forget about their lousy 3-7 record.
“You’ve got to take risks in order to make plays,” Simmons told me in the afterglow of Denver’s 24-19 victory against Cleveland on the first Sunday of November.
Remember?
Trailing by five points midway through the fourth quarter, quarterback drove the Browns from the shadow of their own goal line deep into Denver territory, with a long pass to Odell Beckham Jr. raising the angst of Broncomaniacs screaming for a defensive stop.
Facing third down at Denver’s 25-yard-line and needing only a single yard to move the chains, Broncos coach took the calculated gamble of bringing Simmons on a safety blitz from the weak side.
Denver was trying to steal a victory by sneaking Simmons in the back door. A burglar who hesitates is busted. Although Simmons knew full well Mayfield is comfortable keeping the football after faking a handoff, the Denver safety bolted into Cleveland’s backfield, taking dead aim at running back Nick Chubb.
“As an outside blitzer, I’m the only contain guy,” Simmons told me after the game. “So I just put all my chips on the line and said: ‘He’s handing off to Chubb.’ And I was right. But had (Mayfield) kept the ball, it would’ve not been good.”
By doubling down on Fangio’s gamble, however, Simmons blasted Chubb from the blind side, dumping him for a 3-yard loss. A roar of approval from the Denver crowd loudly announced the momentum had changed.
With Cleveland’s confidence wrecked by Simmons’ big play, the panic in the Browns became palpable. A shaky, hurried pass by Mayfield on fourth down fell IN-COM-PLETE! And the Broncos celebrated a rare victory.
I would argue that with the possible exception of fellow safety , there has been no more consistently outstanding performer on the defensive side of the football for the Broncos than Simmons. His interceptions contributed to victories against the Chargers and Titans.
Although he arrived as a third-round draft choice in the months after Denver won 50, his relative youth makes Simmons more valuable to the team’s long-term future than defensive veterans or , who are both also headed toward free agency. In a secondary where Elway recently made a big financial commitment to Jackson, if push comes to shove, the Broncos would be wise to spend their money on Simmons before Harris.
While the Broncos aren’t going back to the Super Bowl until they find a quarterback who can make a difference between winning and losing in the playoffs, there are reasons for hope in a locker room where , and Dalton Risner form a young core obsessed with making the team great again.
The No Fly Zone is dead. And the glory of Super Bowl 50 has faded.
But at age 26, Simmons has conclusively demonstrated he possesses talent, as well as the winning attributes to lead the Broncos back to respectability.
Hey, we all want to see rookie quarterback Drew Lock in the huddle during what remains of this lost NFL season. But if the rest of 2019 is about building a better future, the must-win for the Broncos is signing Simmons to a new contract.
