JJ Watt, Justin Simmons both throw praise at new Broncos DL Zach Allen
Mar 14, 2023, 12:48 PM
The Zach Allen signing rocked Broncos Country on Monday night, capping off a wild first day of free agency.
It’s not the Allen’s a household name, at least not yet, it’s that the Broncos gave him a $45.75 million deal that includes $32.5 million guaranteed. This closed Monday with Denver spending nearly $220 million overall and over $128 million guaranteed.
Some of the metrics on Allen are impressive, including that only superstar Aaron Donald with the Rams was better at stuffing the run in the entire NFL a season ago. He also finished higher in some categories than former Broncos DL Dre’Mont Jones, who the team let leave for Seattle.
And while his sack totals the last two seasons aren’t crazy, 4.0 in 2021 and 5.5 in 2022, two of his former teammates and big-time NFL stars offered praise of the contract agreement once it was announced. The recently retired JJ Watt chimed in, who Allen played with in Arizona.
Love this for my guy!!
Works his ass off, studies his ass off, cares immensely.
Can’t wait to see what this next chapter holds.
Well deserved.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) March 14, 2023
Watt’s fairly active on Twitter, but Allen was the only signing he went out of his way to congratulate. That’s telling. And Broncos safety Justin Simmons also made a point to comment on the deal. Simmons and Allen are reunited in Denver after playing one season of college football together at Boston College.
Eagles reunited !!
Congrats bro! More than deserving of this. Let’s go win!!! @TheZALLEN44 https://t.co/eDzcGhoScP
— Justin Simmons (@jsimms1119) March 14, 2023
Broncos fans will like that last sentence from Simmons. He’s been in Denver for seven years, joining the team right after they won Super Bowl 50. He’s never made the playoffs, and has just one winning season under his belt. That’s not Simmons’ fault, as he’s been brilliant, but the man has to be sick of losing.
Allen will have to deliver on the field, but endorsements from Watt and Simmons are telling. One is a future Hall of Famer, and the other could be trending that direction.
Broncos Country, Let’s Win.
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