Mile High Monday: Expect the Broncos to re-up Simmons in 2020
Jan 6, 2020, 6:45 AM | Updated: 8:06 am
The Denver Broncos are in offseason mode. It’s time for general manager John Elway and the scouting department to continue building this team with solid draft picks and quality decisions in free agency. The Broncos are close, and the right moves this offseason could get them back into the playoffs.
I like watching playoff football. In fact, I love it. Nothing beats the win-or-go-home pressure the NFL postseason brings to the table. Denver is not in the playoffs this year, but, hopefully, they will get back soon.
I also like contemplating life and sports when driving around with the top down on my old Jeep TJ, even in January. The following is a result of those trips during the week.
Buckle up, let’s take a ride through my thoughts.
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Simmons loves ‘Eddie Money’
The Broncos have some tough decisions coming up in free agency. However, there is one decision that is easy. In fact, it seems like it’s already been made: Denver will keep safety Justin Simmons around in 2020 somehow.
The two sides have been working on a contract for some time, but nothing is close yet, and it may go down to the wire before a deal can be reached.
Simmons is set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2020, but it’s unlikely he sees the open market. If Denver can’t get something done before the start of free agency, the Broncos will likely place the franchise tag on Simmons. That one-year deal would fully guarantee him a salary of around $12 million and give both sides until mid-July to get a long-term deal done.
The Broncos should have gotten something done with Simmons during the 2019 season, as his price keeps going up because of the market at the safety position.
Bears safety Eddie Jackson agrees to four-year, $58.4M contract extension. (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/RKLTuZ6B6l
— NFL (@NFL) January 3, 2020
Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson agreed to a four-year, $58 million contract extension with the team on Friday, per Jackson’s agents. The deal includes $22 million in full guarantees. The $14.6 million yearly average makes Jackson the highest-paid player at the position, and that number is one Simmons and his agent likely want to top.
The Broncos might not be willing to set the market at the safety position and give Simmons more money annually than Jackson. The two are similar players and certainly have shined under the guidance of Vic Fangio (Jackson with Fangio as defensive coordinator in Chicago and Simmons with Fangio as the head coach). The gap between the one-year price tag — roughly $12 million — and what Jackson got — $14.6 million — doesn’t seem that large in the grand scheme of things. However, that roughly $2.6 million difference could cause this deal to get delayed until mid-July.
The Broncos aren’t going to let Simmons go, but they may not pay him right away either.
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Tom Brady in the AFC West?
We might have seen Tom Brady play his final game for the New England Patriots on Saturday in the team’s loss to the Tennessee Titans in the wild-card round.
Brady has said he’s “highly unlikely” to retire after this season and is set to be an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career. The veteran superstar cannot be franchise-tagged by the Patriots, and there is a real chance that he’s playing somewhere else in 2020.
NFL analyst Cris Collinsworth speculated on Sunday that Brady could end up playing for the Los Angeles Chargers next season. The Chargers are moving into a new stadium, which they share with the Rams, and Brady could be back home in California.
Collinsworth: I know there are people that think Tom Brady’s finished. I did not see that this year. I think he plays again, I think he’ll play well.
Al: You think he plays in NE?
Collinsworth: I don’t
Al: So where?
Collinsworth: How bout a wild guess? How bout the Chargers pic.twitter.com/VoJJ8h8r3w
— Boo Boo Shoester (@FTBeard11) January 6, 2020
It’s interesting to think where Brady could end up playing in 2020. Facing Brady twice a year would be a real challenge for the Broncos, even if he’s not the same player he used to be.
Brady says he’s going to play until he’s 45 years old, and 2020 will be his age 43 season. That means Brady wants to play a couple of more seasons if he’s physically capable of doing so.
Brady to the Chargers is one thing. I just hope he doesn’t somehow end up with the Las Vegas Raiders.
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No days off
Von Miller is still a superstar in the NFL, and he wants to get this team back to the top of the mountain.
He failed to play 16 games for the first time in six seasons, but Miller did appear in 15 games for the Broncos in 2019. His numbers were down and his snaps were up, leading many to speculate he might not quite be the same player he used to be.
I say those naysayers don’t know what they’re talking about.
Miller had 8.0 sacks in 2019, the first time since his nine-game 2013 season he didn’t reach double-digit sacks. However, Miller played most of this season without Bradley Chubb rushing the passer on the other side. That meant opponents could chip Miller or straight up double-team him on nearly every snap.
Chubb will be back next season, and Miller should be back to his dominating ways. At the end-of-season press conference, Elway said the team will pick up Miller’s $18 million team option for 2020. He will count around $26.6 million against the cap this upcoming season, and Miller wants to prove that he’s still worth that inflated number.
The Broncos’ season ended 6 days ago and already @VonMiller is back in the Bay Area working with Frank Matrisciano, aka “Hell’s trainer,” for the 2020-21 season.
Von ain’t messin around. 😳 (via IG) pic.twitter.com/0NXFkjzvnt
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) January 5, 2020
Miller is not going to take it easy this offseason. He led the league in a category not many know about: Incompletions caused by pressure. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Miller caused 36 incompletions due to his pressure. He finished with one more “IncCrtd” than former Broncos linebacker Shaq Barrett (and did it in one less game).
Film study and advanced data show that Miller didn’t have a bad season. His sack numbers may have been down in 2019, but I have a feeling they will be back to expected levels in 2020.
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New Year, new J’s
I love collecting sneakers. It’s a weakness of mine, and now I find myself owning more than 100 pairs of Air Jordans.
I love J’s and have spent years building a collection in which I’m proud. I wear most of the J’s I buy, but there are a few special pairs that I have never slipped on as they are too collectible and too expensive to wear.
On Saturday, I was able to enjoy the “Laced Up Denver” shoe show at a hotel in the Denver Tech Center — a packed event featuring the latest in sneakers and fashion.
It was a great show with some awesome shoes I’d never seen before in person. I love the fact that all sorts of different people were at the show. Young people and old people of different races and different backgrounds all came together to enjoy something we all love: sneakers.
My main shoe guy Eli Alfaro had a table there, so, of course, I had to buy another pair of J’s from him. I actually wasn’t planning on buying another pair, but I liked the “Alternate History” 13’s he had, so I made the deal.
Are you a sneakerhead too? Let me know on social networking what is your favorite pair or a favorite story about collecting.
Follow Cecil Lammey on Twitter and Instagram: @cecillammey
