Each offseason, the top available free agents are quickly scooped up by teams on the opening days of the new league year. By this stage of the offseason, the market is usually bare, and recognizable names are often scarce. Yet, for the second year in a row, one of the league’s top safeties is still available on the open market.
Two-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons is still waiting for the right opportunity to come knocking. The 31-year-old has compiled 32 career interceptions, the most of any player since he was selected by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Despite his individual success, Simmons has not reached the postseason in his nine-year career. He left Denver last offseason — right before the Broncos ended their playoff drought — and spent the 2024 season with the Atlanta Falcons.
Simmons is hoping to find a home with a contender, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’d be thrilled to join the Kansas City Chiefs. During an appearance on “Up & Adams,” Simmons told host Kay Adams that he’d prefer to beat his former AFC West rival rather than join them.
“Am I shutting that door? Am I closing it? No, but I want to be the team that beats them,” Simmons said on Tuesday. “I’m not closing that door. I’m not that incompetent to think if Kansas City wanted me to come through, I wouldn’t, but I just want to beat them, man.”
Simmons isn’t the first former AFC West player to harbor hostility for Kansas City. Former Las Vegas Raiders running back Josh Jacobs reportedly spurned an offer from the Chiefs before joining the Green Bay Packers in free agency.
If Simmons has his heart set on taking down the Chiefs, there may not be a better fit than the Philadelphia Eagles, who trounced Kansas City in Super Bowl LIX. The 31-year-old also has experience with Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, who was Denver’s head coach from 2019 to 2021. Philadelphia also moved on from safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson this offseason, which could create a vacancy for Simmons to fill.
“There was a lot of new [in Atlanta],” Simmons said. “There was a new system, there was a new way to do it. Going to Philly with Vic, you know exactly what you’re getting out of me and I know exactly what I’m getting out of them because I’ve been in the system. I still have a ways to go to mastering it, but there are some things and nuances that I know Vic likes, that I know that [defensive backs coach] Christian Parker likes, and I think I could really help in that area. Obviously, them moving on from C.J. and what he’s poured into that city there is big shoes to fill, but I love what they have going with [Reed] Blankenship and the rest of the supporting cast there. So I don’t know, it’s interesting. I’m excited to see what happens.”
Simmons has intercepted Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes six times in 12 games, per NBC San Diego. No other player has intercepted Mahomes more than twice.
