How Broncos' Cash Commitments at Safety Impact 2023 Outlook

The Denver Broncos have made the majority of their offseason moves, some more recent as they fine-tune the roster before training camp begins.

We now have a better idea about how much the Broncos will commit in terms of money toward the roster going into 2023. We can also get a better idea about the money commitment in 2024, given who is currently under contract with the team.

In the coming weeks, I'll continue to review each positional group and look at the money that's currently being committed to the biggest names in 2023, what can be expected for 2024, and what changes could potentially happen, which then affects the money committed.

We'll continue this series with the safeties, a positional group in which the Broncos are committing a fair amount of money, but that could change in the future.

Safety Roster for 2023

Current safeties: Kareem Jackson, P.J. Locke, Justin Simmons, Caden Sterns, Delarrin Turner-Yell

Largest cash commitments for 2023: Simmons is due a $14.4M base salary for 2023, of which $2.9M is fully guaranteed. Jackson signed a one-year deal for $2.667M. The rest of the safeties are due no more than $1M for the coming season.

Cash commitments for 2024: Simmons is due a $14.5M base salary that isn't guaranteed. Sterns might see an increase in his salary if he can meet certain snap thresholds during the 2023 season.

What could change for 2023: Given that Jackson is a recent re-signing, it's hard to see the Broncos making any changes to the safety room, even though they have just six players listed as safeties under contract.

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What could change for 2024: If Simmons' play declines in 2023, the Broncos may decide to part ways with him after the season. If he continues to play at a high level, he'll likely be retained, but the Broncos will have to determine if they need to add another veteran.

Much of that depends on how Sterns, Skinner, and Turner-Yell fare with their development. With Sterns, he also needs to stay healthy. If at least two of those safeties show they can be top contributors, the Broncos have less of a need to add a veteran.

Barring a sharp decline in 2023, it's more than likely that Simmons will be back in 2024. However, it could be his last season, given other commitments the Broncos will have to make on defense.

As I mentioned in my cornerbacks article, Patrick Surtain II's fifth-year option for 2025 will likely be a significant amount. Furthermore, if the Broncos extend him next season, they aren't likely to commit more cash to Simmons after 2024.

The Broncos must also make some decisions about the edge rushers. Whether it's adding another veteran next season or an extension for a younger player who enters the final year of his deal in 2024, that's more cash to commit to defense and, thus, less to commit to Simmons beyond 2024.

Bottom Line

Though Simmons has been a valuable member of the Broncos roster, and he may likely play out the remainder of his contract (barring a sharp decline), it's hard to see the Broncos finding a way to keep him beyond 2024.

Perhaps the Broncos will work things out so Simmons can stay, while they still commit a significant sum to Surtain. However, that's far from guaranteed.

Along with Surtain, Simmons' future beyond 2024 depends on the play of other safeties and what happens at edge rusher. The Broncos may have ownership that's more willing to spend money, but there's only so much cash and cap space available to commit to players.

Simmons is certainly a player many Broncos fans love. But it may be expecting a bit much for him to finish his career with the Broncos.

While fans won't likely have to prepare too soon for life without Simmons, that is something to keep in mind further down the road.

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