Imago
Credit: Instagram @jsimms1119
Imago
Credit: Instagram @jsimms1119
Essentials Inside The Story
- Exactly ten years to the day he was drafted, this multi-time Pro Bowler announces his retirement
- The Broncos veteran was a three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee
- He was considered the primary voice of the Broncos' locker room during his tenure
Justin Simmons best embodies being the right man stuck at the wrong time. He arrived in Denver in 2016 (98th overall) when the city streets still had bits of confetti swirling after the Super Bowl win, and departed in 2024 just months before the team snapped its nine-year playoff drought. And it is here where we pause, ever so briefly, to soak in the absurdity of this statement: He was a winning player in losing teams.
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In between, he brought perspective to the bleak time between the end of Gary Kubiak’s tenure and the beginning of Sean Payton’s. As a four-time All-Pro safety who never saw the end of a cycle of rebuilds, the only winning season he witnessed was in 2016… that too as a probationary member of, what then Broncos’ secondary was famously called, “No Fly Zone.”
Having spent a year with the Falcons before a year-long absence from football, Simmons enquired whether they would have him sign a one-day contract to retire as a Bronco. No questions asked, and Simmons was granted more than that.
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10 years to the day that they drafted him, the 32-year-old announced his retirement on the Broncos’ account with a 40-minute press conference and a ceremonial introduction by Hall of Famer Steve Atwater later that afternoon to follow.
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“My time here in Denver literally shaped me into the man that I am,” Simmons said on X. “To the best fans in the world and Broncos Country, thank you so much for all your support for both myself and my family. If I go back in time and talk to the young Justin Simmons, I would tell him as confidently as I could look him in the eye and say, ‘You got this.'”
“Being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team. It was my heart, my home and my story.”
Exactly 10 years to the day we drafted him, All-Pro safety @jsimms1119 is retiring a Bronco: pic.twitter.com/rOZbocQU5o
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) April 29, 2026
There were several times Simmons welled up during the entirety of the press conference. “It just felt like there was a lot asked, and I feel like I fell short. So, that’s why — a lot of the emotional aspect of it. I felt like I let a lot of people down over the years.”
In the eight-season stretch with the Broncos, the safety was a nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year with the team for three straight seasons and and was named the team’s Darrent Williams Good Guy Award winner for his professional and courteous dealings with the media on three different occasions. Both are team records.
Personally for Simmons, if you ask what would constitute as one of the biggest highlights of his careers, it wasn’t an interception. The one that peaks above all the rest would be the time that he sacked Tom Brady during his rookie season. “There they are; he’s doing his thing, taking him down the thing. I was able to get a big-time sack and it was one of those, ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moments for me.”
Simmons also served as a three-time captain and became a leading voice in the locker room through both highs and lows. During that time, Simmons played 118 games, started 108, with his 30 interceptions tied for seventh all-time in Denver franchise history, along with 64 passes defended, three forced fumbles, 4.5 sacks, 604 combined tackles, 443 solo tackles, and 19 tackles for loss.
A cap casualty that saw the Broncos releasing him in 2024, he signed with the Atlanta Falcons, starting 16 games and finishing with 2 interceptions that season.
Simmons’ career was not defined by performance alone. The veteran also faced a personal setback when his father, Victor Simmons, passed away just before the 2023 season. He ended the year earning a Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod. “And I know that would have made my dad happy,” he said.
Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator & former head coach reacted after Simmons retired as a Bronco
Vic Fangio was pretty much over around the same time as the Broncos’ Week 18 matchup against the Chiefs in the 2021-22 season. They had nothing going in favor of them: Simmons’ safety partner, Kareem Jackson, and future Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II were hurt. Ronald Darby, the other starting corner, was hurt. Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator and former Broncos assistant coach Christian Parker remembered Simmons trotting out to the field as if the entire season rested on his shoulders.
“To me, he’s the best safety in the deep part of the field in his era,” said Parker. “I think the interceptions speak to that.”
“He doesn’t do it because he thinks he should,” said former Broncos coach Vic Fangio of Simmons’ work in the community. “He enjoys doing it, and he does it with a good heart and a good mindset.”
“I was excited to give my team — my teammates and my coaches — the best version of myself that I could,” Simmons said. No apologies needed, Simmons. Like this fan leaned into what made his career stand out in today’s NFL landscape. “Ten years, one jersey, and a clean exit. The rarest stat in the NFL.”
Written by
Edited by
Antra Koul