All 49ers

49ers Named a Potential Landing Spot for All-Pro Safety Justin Simmons

If the 49ers have any money left to spend, they should be in the market for a safety.
Grant Cohn|
Nov 17, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons (31) warms up before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images
Nov 17, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons (31) warms up before the game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

In this story:

San Francisco 49ers

If the 49ers have any money left to spend, they should be in the market for a safety.

Technically, they have more than $46 million in salary cap space, the second-most in the NFL. So they could afford another safety if their owners can stomach the price after spending big money to extend Brock Purdy, Fred Warner and George Kittle this offseason.

During OTAs and minicamp this month, the 49ers' starting safeties were veteran journeymen Richie Grant and Jason Pinnock. That's why CBS Sports names the 49ers as a potential landing spot for free agent safety Justin Simmons.

"If Simmons can't reunite with Vic Fangio in Philadelphia, perhaps he'd settle for one of Fangio's most accomplished disciples in Robert Saleh, who's back as San Francisco's coordinator after a tumultuous stint as New York Jets head coach," writes CBS Sports' Cody Benjamin.

"The 49ers spent much of the offseason shedding salary, including by letting Talanoa Hufanga sign elsewhere, but with projected starting safeties Ji'Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha both nursing injuries, a one-year partnership could make sense."

Simmons was an All-Pro four times in five seasons between 2019 and 2023. But he'll turn 32 this season. Last season, he waited until mid-August to sign a one-year deal with the Falcons. This year, he probably will wait just as long, if not longer, to pick his next team. So the 49ers can see what they have in their own safeties before making him an offer.

But as of now, safety might be the weakest position on the 49ers roster. Signing Simmons to a one-year deal couldn't hurt.

Read more

Published
Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

Share on XFollow grantcohn
Home/News