Broncos Rumors: Justin Simmons Received Contract Offer to Be Top 5-6 Paid Safety

The Denver Broncos felt they provided safety Justin Simmons with a competitive offer, even if they couldn't sign him to a long-term deal ahead of Wednesday's deadline for multiyear contracts.

According to Mike Klis of 9News, the proposed deal could have made Simmons the fifth- or sixth-highest paid safety in the league. This projection would likely put him between Devin McCourty ($11.5 million per year) and Earl Thomas ($13.75 million) in average annual salary, per Spotrac.

Simmons will instead play the 2020 season on the franchise tag, making $11.441 million.

As Klis noted, only two of the 14 franchise-tagged players (Chris Jones and Derrick Henry) agreed to multiyear deals. The Broncos have had more luck in the past, with each of the last four players on the franchise tag eventually signing long-term deals.

Simmons, who made $4.7 million in his first four years combined, started every game for the Broncos over the past two seasons, playing 100 percent of defensive snaps in that stretch, per Pro Football Reference.

James Palmer of NFL Network noted:

Pro Football Focus rated Simmons as the top safety and No. 4 overall defensive player in 2019, per NFL Research.

Though he still hasn't been selected to a Pro Bowl, he was named a second-team All-Pro last year. The 26-year-old will now try to improve upon that performance in 2020 before hitting free agency in 2021.