ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Justin Simmons had a Pro Bowl season last year. On a team wrecked by injuries, inconsistency and the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, his steady, smart play was the calm in a Category 5 hurricane of a campaign.
The storm is passing now. Millions of vaccines go into arms every day. In a few weeks, Broncos players will be eligible for the jabs that open the door to a return to normalcy — maybe a modified version of it compared with the past, but something far closer to normal than what 2020 provided. Injured teammates like Von Miller and Courtland Sutton are returning to health.
And perhaps most of all, new general manager George Paton has backed up words with actions. He said he would reward players developed by the Broncos, and in the last week, he gave $47.1 million in guarantees to Simmons and defensive end Shelby Harris.
As Simmons noted Monday, last year was “one of my toughest seasons.” He was team-first, as always. But after receiving the franchise tag and not getting a long-term contract, he played under a cloud of uncertainty and questions about his future. His play was reliable. His future seemed murky.
What was clear was that Simmons wanted to be here. He wanted to stay with his teammates and play for coaches that he knew had his back.
“I was thankful for Coach Vic [Fangio] and Coach Ed [Donatell],” Simmons said. “They know my character and every week, it felt like I was just being checked up on mentally when I was away from home in the facility.
“I was just thankful for them checking up on me and just being there for me. And that’s really why I talked about [how] I wanted to be here. I wasn’t hiding it. I want to be here. I want to be back. I believe in so many things here from top to bottom, and it was just so good, and the second time getting tagged, it wasn’t really a problem for me, because I wanted to be here once again.”
But Simmons did not know if he would remain for the long term. He could have played one more year on the franchise tender, but then a departure seemed certain if that tender didn’t yield a long-term deal. That left him awash in a sea of questions when the season ended.
The sea parted when Simmons spoke with Paton in January, just after the longtime Vikings executive assumed the Broncos’ reins.
“I’ll never forget, George called me maybe the same day or a day or two after he just accepted the job as the GM, and we had a conversation, and it was one where I left the phone and I was like, ‘This is definitely going to happen,’ and we didn’t talk numbers or anything like that,” Simmons said.
“It was just, ‘happy to be here, if you ever need me, call me,’ and I just left that conversation like, ‘I can’t wait. Whatever it’s going to take, I’m going to be here.'”
Just over two months later, Paton delivered on his promise to reward core players that the Broncos drafted and developed.
“It’s really nice to reward players that deserve it,” Paton said, “and Justin definitely deserved it.”
The result is a life-changing contract for Simmons. Playing on the franchise tag last year resulted in a big score that only a small percentage of NFL players ever received. Getting a deal that could be worth up to $61 million, with $32.1 million of it fully guaranteed.
So, where would he want to spend his new largesse?
“Ooh, the money question, that’s a great one,” he replied.
His first expenditure was on his daughter.
“The first thing I have to get is my daughter some hot chocolate after we leave here, because I promised her if she was good — and she’s not making too much noise right now — I’d get her some hot chocolate,” Simmons said.
But then, the tasks become bigger. The commitment of Simmons and his wife, Taryn, to myriad charities and causes is a reason why he has become a pillar of the team. He is already a two-time Broncos nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award; if he continues to play at the stellar level he reached in the last two seasons, it seems to be a matter of when — and not if — he eventually gets to wear the coveted patch on his jersey given to players who win the league’s most revered individual honor.
In the wake of George Floyd’s death last May 25, Simmons’ commitment to social-justice causes increased. He helped organize a rally in Martin County, Florida, where he grew up and became a high-school star. Six days later, he helped organize the Broncos’ march through downtown Denver, which cemented his connection to the community and his status as a team and civic leader.
Now, he’s thinking ahead. He wants to advance the causes that he holds dear. Guided by his profound and genuine Christian faith, he wants to take his reward and pay it forward.
“There are so many organizations out there that are doing such amazing work. We have our hands full here winning football games, but we would love to partner with organizations like IJM (International Justice Mission). There are things that we have foundationally that we want to do. We’re going to pour into doing that.
“Another thing that we’ve talked about doing is lifting up some of the not-so-good parts of our community back at home and building some places where kids can get jobs a little bit easier, and even some parents can get jobs a litter bit easier. [Making things] a little more affordable. We have a bunch of ideas that we have in place in terms of community outreach work and things of that nature that I think are going to be special.”
For the Simmons’ endeavors, Denver is the perfect place, and the Broncos are the perfect organization.
The Denver metropolitan area is a place where Broncos players are welcomed with charitable opportunities — not just in their playing days, but in the decades beyond, as evidenced by the outreach that many former players have long after their retirement from the field. And the Broncos’ commitment to the community is unmatched, with the brick-and-mortar Boys and Girls Club in Montbello serving as one of the organization’s crown jewels.
Simmons and the Broncos are a perfect marriage on and off the field. All that is missing is wins.
“I want to make sure that we’re winning, getting back to winning our division, getting back into the playoffs and hosting home playoff games,” Simmons said. “Those are some of my team goals I want to get back to.
“I wish we could start tomorrow and just get this thing going.”
