A prolific free agent market at his position has left two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons without a team ahead of the preseason. Simmons has a knack for creating turnovers and would be a valuable addition for many franchises chasing a championship this year. Two of the NFC's biggest contenders—and a third with aspirations to contend—project as the best landing spots for Simmons.
This offseason, a number of tremendous safeties flooded free agency and landed impressive paydays. Eight different players, from Antoine Winfield Jr. at a record-high $21 million per year to Darnell Savage with the Jacksonville Jaguars , earned deals in excess of $7.
25 million per season. Shockingly, one of the biggest fish available still hasn't been plucked from the pond. Justin Simmons, the Denver Broncos ' two-time Pro Bowl defensive back, has been lounging at home since becoming a cap casualty ahead of the league's legal tampering period.
With the preseason underway, though, he's itching to get back in the saddle. Some of Simmons' initially projected destinations, like the Green Bay Packers , filled their vacancies moments after the market opened . Others, such as the Baltimore Ravens , have done so in recent days.
Despite the lack of overall activity surrounding him, there are multiple teams whose 2024 outlook would be boosted in a big way if they added him to the fold. With NFL teams headed towards training camp in the next couple of weeks, there are still a lot of guys on the market that could help out. New Orleans Saints For better or worse, the Saints have refused to enter a rebuild following Drew Brees ' retirement in 2020.
New Orleans has a 25-26 record post-Brees and has failed to capitalize on their placement in the woebegone NFC South each of the past two years, yet continues adding big-name players in spite of their already precarious future cap situation. Reports of them hosting Simmons on August 7 show they remain committed to their game plan. As confusing as this may be to outsiders, the Saints' front office does have legitimate reasons for optimistically pushing their Monopoly money into the center of the table.
New Orleans ranked top-10 in points per game on both sides of the ball and had the seventh-highest point differential (+75) in the league a season ago. Their expected record of 10.5-6.
5 would have been tops in the division and fifth-best in the NFC. The clunky, archaic offense that injury-riddled Derek Carr operated last season will be a thing of the past now that Klint Kubiak—formerly of the San Francisco 49ers —is installing a scheme influenced by his father, Super Bowl champion coach Gary Kubiak, and Kyle Shanahan . Defensively, the Saints have been planning for the improved passing attacks of their division rivals.
The addition of Simmons, who played under Saints defensive coordinator Joe Woods and defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson in Denver, would produce massive dividends. New Orleans Saints' Safety Room Player 2023 PFF Grade Tyrann Mathieu 81.3 (10th/95) Jordan Howden 67.
0 (47th/95) Johnathan Abram 57.1 Rodric Teamer 51.9 J.
T. Gray 45.7 New Orleans' presence in the NFL's weakest division, along with a need at the position and familiarity with Simmons, appear to make them the frontrunner for his services.
It wouldn't be surprising to see him and Tyrann Mathieu form a dynamic starting duo and help catapult the Saints into the postseason. Their front office, holding $8.1 million in cap space, would likely need to wave its magic wand once more to get his contract on the books, but we've all seen they have no qualms about doing whatever is necessary to add someone they value.
Detroit Lions Simmons, born in 1993 and drafted in 2016, has never participated in a playoff game. Both of those years represented milestone moments—their last division title and last playoff appearance, respectively—for the Lions, who nearly roared their way into the Super Bowl after ending both aforementioned droughts in 2023. If the soon-to-be ninth-year veteran wants to suit up for a postseason bout in 2024, joining Detroit would seem to make more sense than New Orleans.
The Lions boasted a strong rush defense last season, but were subpar against the pass. Those struggles stemmed from poor-to-mid secondary play beyond rookie defender Brian Branch and safety Ifeatu Melifonwu. General manager Brad Holmes addressed his cornerback concerns through a trade (Carlton Davis) and the draft (Terrion Arnold and Ennis Rakestraw Jr.
). However, the safety position went practically untouched. The four reserve safeties listed on Detroit's roster combined for 14 snaps in 2023; Brandon Joseph, whose work came exclusively on special teams, was the only backup at the position to see playing time last season.
Detroit Lions' Safety Room Player 2023 PFF Grade/Rank Ifeatu Melifonwu 82.1 (9th/95) Kerby Joseph 56.5 (83rd/95) C.
J. Moore 0 Defensive Snaps Brandon Joseph 0 Defensive Snaps Chelen Garnes UDFA Loren Strickland UDFA Branch's versatility gives the Lions an avenue to fill that void in their lineup, but getting to deploy him in various fashions throughout a game and the entire year would really put opposing offenses in a bind. Joseph snared four interceptions last season, but was ninth-worst among safeties in coverage grade (50.
9, 86th/94), indicating he had major inconsistencies. Simmons, with a coverage grade of 63.4 (51st/94) isn't the same player he once was, but would provide a steady hand while offering the same playmaking ability.
GIVEMESPORT Key Stat : Over the last three seasons, Justin Simmons is tied for the second-most interceptions (14) with DaRon Bland and Rasul Douglas. The only defender with more interceptions in that time frame is Trevon Diggs (15). It's rare for any team, let alone a projected Super Bowl contender, to have such a humongous hole less than one month before the season begins.
Detroit has the rare opportunity to plug the gap with a proven veteran whose hunger for playoff football lines up with that of the Lions' entire roster. They have $40.7 million in cap space right now, and $52.
3 million for 2025; they'd be foolish not to devote a good chunk of change to Simmons to solidify their NFC standing. Philadelphia Eagles When C.J.
Gardner-Johnson departed the Lions in free agency, he literally and figuratively went to greener pastures. Eagles general manager Howie Roseman has been on a spending spree that would make Paris Hilton jealous, shelling out nearly $471 million on nine veteran contracts this offseason. They say money won't buy you happiness, but Philadelphia is hoping it's good enough to print a second Super Bowl ring.
The 2023 collapse the Eagles experienced came, in large part, because of a porous pass defense. Philadelphia went from first in passing yards allowed per game (179.8) during their NFC Championship-winning 2022 campaign to 31st (252.
7) last year. Roseman now has 14 cornerbacks on his roster before preseason Week 1, but only five true safeties. Philadelphia Eagles' Safety Room Player 2023 PFF Grade/Rank Reed Blankenship 73.
4 (18th/95) C.J. Gardner-Johnson 61.
7 Tristin McCollum 76.6 Mekhi Garner 51.1 Andre Sam UDFA To reduce the sheer number of big plays they allowed, the Eagles are considering all options.
There has been talk of James Bradberry experimenting with a shift to safety , but new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio stated the transition is harder than it seems from the outside. The former Broncos' head coach needs trustworthy, reliable talents to clean things up in the backend. Simmons more than qualifies.
Philadelphia is in nowhere near as dire of straights for a safety addition as Detroit, but their general defensive weakness is similar. Roseman still has a shade less than $24 million of 2024 cap space, so he could afford to overpay a little if he decides Simmons is more of a necessity than a luxury for his squad. Just as it would be wise for the Lions to lure Simmons to town, it'd be prudent of Philadelphia to do the same.
With the two foes expected to joust for position atop the NFC alongside the 49ers, Simmons could become the biggest X-Factor in determining which franchise reaches their dream destination. All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference and all contract info courtesy of Spotrac unless stated otherwise. The majority of teams to appear on HBO's 'Hard Knocks' don't reach the NFL Playoffs.
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