After placing a one-year, $11.441 million franchise tag on safety Justin Simmons earlier this offseason, the Broncos are approaching an important deadline. Denver has until July 15 to sign Simmons to a multi-year deal.
If the two sides do not reach an agreement before that deadline, Simmons will play on his tag in 2020 and become a free agent in 2021.
Simmons’ agent will likely want his client to receive a deal similar to what the Bears gave Eddie Jackson. In January, Jackson signed a deal that averages $14.6 million per season.
Unlike Jackson, Simmons doesn’t have any All-Pro or Pro Bowl nods on his resume. Simmons’ market value is $14,439,489 per year, according to an estimate from Spotrac.com. That would be just below Jackson’s yearly average, making Simmons the second-highest paid safety in the NFL.
Right now, Tennessee’s Kevin Byard ($14.1 million) ranks second behind Jackson and Kansas City’s Tyrann Mathieu ($14 million) and Washington’s Landon Collins ($14 million) are tied for third among safeties.
