Justin Simmons says he’ll be a ‘Bronco for life’

No one in a full NFL uniform this Sunday will have played more games as a Denver Bronco than Justin Simmons.

No one on the Broncos has suited up for the Orange and Blue more than Simmons with his 118 career games. Only left tackle Garett Bolles comes close, but he won’t be close enough to catch Simmons in this regular season. Having signed with the Atlanta Falcons this summer after a drawn-out free-agency process that saw him sit on the shelf for long after the primary signing period came and went, Simmons makes his highly-anticipated return Sunday.

To say emotions will flow for the nine-year veteran doesn’t do him justice.

“You know, I won’t hear as many cheers. Probably a little bit more boos, but again, I think that’s part of it,” Simmons told Atlanta-area media on Wednesday. “You see guys all around the league go back to places where they played and, they embrace the challenge of working through whatever it is, the physical aspect of it, the emotional aspect of it.

“And so, yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. And thankfully I don’t have to — I don’t have to carry the burden of that all on my own, right? I have amazing teammates. I’m really looking forward to this one because it’s a tough place to go, win at, and it’s going to be a great time. I’m really looking forward to it. Go get a win there.”

That’s sort of the jarring part, of course. For Broncos fans with long memories, it evokes John Lynch going back to Tampa to take on his former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in the first season after the Bucs released him and the Broncos scooped him up. Lynch left the Raymond James Stadium in tears after his Broncos held off Tampa Bay 16-13, and he provided a crucial tackle late to seal that win.

Lynch spent that week detailing how much he appreciated his former team, and Simmons spent time doing that Wednesday.

“I have nothing but love for Broncos Country,” he said. “I’ll always be thankful for my opportunity. You know, that organization invested into me, extended me, and the community there embraced my family.

“I’ll always be — through and through — a Bronco for life.”

The connections still exist in the locker room. Justin Simmons remains on a text chain with former teammates like P.J. Locke, Pat Surtain II and Ja’Quan McMillian.

“So, we’ll be talking throughout the season, and I’m sure there’ll be smack talk,” Simmons said. “I might just mute it and talk to them afterwards, but, yeah, no, it’s going to be great, man.”

Wednesday, Sean Payton acknowledged that cutting Justin Simmons was difficult.

“Holy cow,” Payton said. “I remember him coming out in the draft. I was just with him a season, but it’s always difficult when you’re dealing especially with a veteran. Someone who’s played so well for the organization. Those are never easy decisions.”

Said Simmons: “At the end of the day, there is the business aspect of the NFL and looking even back on it, there’s been players before me that also were great players there. Von Miller, Demaryius Thomas, those guys traded, things like that.

“This is part of the business sometimes, Broncos greats, those things happen. And so, no bad blood on my end. Like I said, I have nothing but love. They’ll always be in my hearts as a great organization.”

Indeed, from the human and heart side, the move was difficult. In the post-Super Bowl 50 era, perhaps no Bronco better threw himself into community endeavors than Simmons, who was the team’s Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee in three-consecutive years (2019-21).

But the Broncos made the move in a moment where teams began to place a lower priority on salary-cap resources given to the safety position. Denver’s starting safeties — P.J. Locke and Brandon Jones — carry a combined salary-cap figure of under $6 million, less than one-third of Simmons’ 2023 cap figure of $18.15 million.

So far, they have held up well. But it will be a while before they have the same impact on Denver that Simmons did.

He should get a warm ovation. But like Lynch 20 years ago, Simmons wants nothing more than to take a win back to his new locker room.

“And I do have nothing but love for the team and for the fan base and for the community that’s still home for us,” Simmons said, “but at the same time, too, I’m a Falcon, and I’m really looking forward.”

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