Simmons became a Bronco exactly a decade ago, as Denver selected the Boston College with the final pick of the third round on April 29, 2016. He arrived to join the defending Super Bowl champions and a personality-filled locker room, learning from the star-studded “No Fly Zone” secondary. He showed his play-making ability early, leaping across the line of scrimmage in New Orleans to block an extra point that Will Parks ran back for a game-winning score. On Christmas Day, in his first true start at safety, Simmons recorded the first of 30 career interceptions with the Broncos.
“If I could go back in time and talk to the young, 2016, third-round draft pick in Justin Simmons, I would tell him, as confidently as I could, look him in the eye and say, ‘You got this,'” Simmons said. “Just kind of put my hand on his shoulder, look him in the eye and just say, ‘You’ve got this.’ I think those are the words that would’ve put me at ease and let me know that anything that I’m going to go through or see what’s going to happen, I was built for and I will be built for. I think when you’re coming into something new, and as intimidating as it was going into the Super Bowl 50 champs and ‘No Fly Zone’ room, just hearing the words ‘You’ve got this’ and ‘You’re built for this’ would’ve put me at ease and gave me the utmost confidence.”
Despite joining a talented group, Simmons quickly proved he belonged. He became a full-time starter beginning in his second season, and he continued to tally interceptions. Simmons would ultimately record multiple interceptions in each of his nine NFL seasons, and he finished with the seventh-most picks in team history. From 2018 to 2023, Simmons recorded at least three interceptions in each of those six seasons, making him the only NFL player to accomplish the feat in that span.
Simmons was also as available as he was talented. From 2018-21, Simmons did not miss a game and played more than 3,200 consecutive snaps from the start of 2018 until the early part of the 2021 season.
Beginning in 2019, Simmons began to receive national recognition for his play. He was named a second-team All-Pro following that season and made his first Pro Bowl a year later. He earned three more second-team All-Pro nods from 2021-23 and added another Pro Bowl selection, identifying himself as a bright spot on a team that faced its share of difficult seasons.
Simmons was named the team’s first Demaryius Thomas Team MVP in 2021 and tied for the NFL lead in interceptions in 2022. He recorded game-winning interceptions against the Raiders (2018), Dolphins (2020) and Commanders (2021) — and his interception and ensuing celebration against the Lions in 2021 capped an emotional win just two days after Thomas passed away.
As the three-time captain reflects on his career, though, he acknowledges the lack of team success. Simmons said he wishes he could have led the franchise back to the postseason, and he hopes Broncos Country understands what he gave to try to make that happen.
“I would just love to be remembered as not just a Bronco, but just a man that gave his all to the team, the city,” Simmons said. “Even in my letter to Broncos Country when I got let go was, ‘I don’t live with regrets.’ I always tell everyone I walk with a sense of purpose and understanding of everything happens for a reason. And the one thing that I wish I could hit on was just getting back to the postseason.
“There were a lot of positive things that happened individually, but I really hold and carry a lot of that weight as a team leader, as a captain, of not being able to promise that stuff, though. So, I just want to be remembered as someone who gave his all and tried his best.”
Simmons embodied that charge, particularly away from the field. The second player in franchise history to be nominated three times for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, Simmons was also the first player to ever earn the nod in back-to-back years. Simmons earned the Broncos’ Community Ambassador award on four occasions as he built a close relationship with the Broncos Boys & Girls Club and impacted the community through the Justin Simmons Foundation. A three-time Darrent Williams Good Guy Award winner, Simmons brought that same approach to his conversations with the media.
“Being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team,” Simmons said. “It was my heart, my home and my story.”
That story now continues, albeit with Simmons in the stands instead of on the field. The longtime Broncos safety, who spent his final season in Atlanta in 2024, remains a fan of the team where he was drafted, where he grew up and where he thrived.
“I’ll always be a Denver Bronco,” Simmons said.
As Simmons looks ahead to this fall, he offered a message to the same fans that he’ll soon be sitting alongside.
“To the best fans in the world and Broncos Country, thank you so much for all your support for both myself and my family,” Simmons said. “The years of growing together in eight years in Denver are some of the most-cherished memories that I’ll have. … You guys have literally made all of the world of difference for me as a player and I can’t thank you enough — you truly are the best fans in the world.
“And this is not a goodbye. I look forward to joining you guys in the stands as we cheer on our team for years and years and years to come.”
