Denver parted ways with Justin Simmons recently, leaving a vacancy at the safety spot. The team plans to fill it by signing Brandon Jones, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. It will be a three-year deal, he adds.
Although Jones will not land in the same salary range as Simmons, the Broncos are guaranteeing him a notable sum. The ex-Dolphin is signing with Sean Payton‘s team for $12.5MM guaranteed, via the Denver Post’s Parker Gabriel. Jones can earn up to $22.5MM on the deal.
This may conclude Denver’s safety spending, as Payton viewed Simmons’ top-five contract as a luxury the team could not afford presently. Given the Russell Wilson development, the Broncos trimming at other positions makes sense. They stripped two of their better starters — Simmons and Jerry Jeudy — off the roster last week.
If the Broncos are done at safety, they will have a trio fairly familiar with one another. Jones joined P.J. Locke and Caden Sterns at Texas; all three safeties were with the Longhorns in 2018, per the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson.
Jones, 25, is coming off his best season. The 2020 third-round pick graded as a top-20 safety, in the view of Pro Football Focus, which rated the four-year Dolphin as a high-end coverage player and blitzer. Jones ripped off five sacks in 2021. Last season, he intercepted two passes. The 6-foot-1 defender also forced a fumble in each of his four NFL seasons.
The Broncos used Simmons as a seven-year starter, and he camped on the All-Pro second team; four such honors came the veteran’s way over the past five seasons. While the Broncos may be battling uphill without their secondary leader, their top three in 2024 may consist of three college teammates who each have at least three years’ experience.