John Elway and Justin Simmons want a deal done, but...

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Despite two games left on the schedule, the Broncos’ 2019 season is all but over. With playoffs officially out of the picture after Sunday’s loss to the Chiefs and a losing record cemented, the focus for Denver has shifted toward building for the future.

And there’s no bigger priority than re-signing rising star safety Justin Simmons.

“We’re thrilled that Justin is a Denver Bronco. We plan to keep him as a Denver Bronco,” John Elway told KOA on Tuesday morning without hesitation.

“That’s awesome,” Simmons said on Tuesday, responding to Elway’s desire to keeping him in Denver. “Like I said, I’d love to be here. This is home. The past four years, this has been home. They gave me my shot. I got drafted in the third round, they gave me my shot. After my first year, we know what happened being able to come in and earn the starting spot and kind of solidify that. It’s just been great. Everything that I would’ve wanted.”

The former third-round pick in 2016 has been Denver’s starting safety since the final three games of his rookie season. In 2019, his play took off, earning him high praise around the league and in the thick of the Pro Bowl conversation.

But Simmons’ rookie deal is up after Denver’s final two games of the season, making him a free agent if a deal isn’t able to get done. Earlier in the season, Vic Fangio echoed Elway’s sentiment about wanting to keep Simmons in Denver past this year.

With both sides wanting a deal to get done, optimism is abound. In fact, it sounds too good to be true. And, that’s because there is a but.

“I just got to keep fighting the good fight, keep stacking up good seasons. Obviously, I talked about it multiple times, hoping that’s here, but it just has to work out on both sides,” Simmons said on Tuesday, metaphorically planting his feet in the ground for contract talks. “I love this system, but I also feel like I make the system work as well as the system works for me. I feel like it’s a hand in hand type of relationship there.”

In a very un-Justin Simmons’ like manner, the 26-year old made it very clear he’s not interested in a hometown discount. He wants to be paid his fair value.

Simmons would “like to think” he’s had a Pro Bowl-caliber season, meaning his price is that of a top safety in the game. Tennessee’s Kevin Byard currently tops the safety market at $14.1 million per year with Tyrann Mathieu and Landon Collins coming in just behind him at $14 million. Six other safeties, including Simmons’ fellow safety Kareem Jackson, make above $10 million per year.

If a long-term deal isn’t able to get worked out, Elway can always use the franchise tag, which he didn’t fully rule out on Tuesday. When asked on KOA if contract negotiations will start sooner rather than later knowing he’s got the franchise tag in his back pocket, Elway simply said laughing, “Yeah. Exactly. You got it right.”

The franchise tag would cost Denver roughly $12 million for 2020 and would allow the two sides to continue to work on a long-term contract until the middle of July. If no deal is signed by then, the two sides must wait until after the season.

Typically, players are wary of the franchise tag because it is only a one year, albeit fully guaranteed, deal. In fact, it’s not uncommon for some players to hold out, or at least threaten to hold out if a long-term deal is not reached.

However, in Simmons’ rookie contract, which he’s currently on, he was paid a total of $3.06 million over four years. Upwards of $12 million for one year could be too much for him to holdout from.

“I’ve never once not had confidence in my own ability. I’ve always had confidence in how I can play and what I can do,” Simmons said, showing a mindset that he wouldn’t be afraid to bet on himself if he was franchised tagged.

Yet as Justin made it clear negotiations may not be as easy as some may hope, he reiterated multiple times on Tuesday that he hopes it works out “on both ends because obviously I would love to stay.”

“I wasn’t just giving a media answer a couple of weeks ago when I was talking about how special I think this unit will be moving forward, I really do believe there’s a lot of young talent,” Simmons said. “This is a first-year system on both sides of the ball. A lot of learning to it. So when you get everyone healthy and talking about the coming years, I think it’s going to be something special here.”

Elway’s made it clear he believes Simmons will be part of that special group of the future. Simmons has made it clear he wants to be apart of it too, but it has to be a fair deal for the Broncos and Justin.