Report: Broncos Unsure if Justin Simmons Will Play in Week 3

The good news on the Denver Broncos' injury front is that left tackle Garett Bolles, limited in Wednesday's practice, was upgraded to a full participant Thursday and appears on track to start in Week 3 at Miami.

The bad news is that star safety Justin Simmons likely won't.

Simmons missed practice for a second straight day with what the team is calling a hip injury, stemming from last week's loss to Washington. Per NFL Network's James Palmer, the Broncos are trying to "rest" Simmons as much as possible but remain unsure if he can play against the Dolphins.

Defensive lineman Mike Purcell, listed as DNP on Wednesday and Thursday due to an ankle issue, is also trending toward being inactive.

#broncos safety Justin Simmons did not practice again on Thursday as Denver looks to face the high powered Dolphins passing attack. My understanding is they’re trying to give Simmons hip injury some rest, but as of right now they’re not sure if he can go Sunday.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) September 21, 2023

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9NEWS' Mike Klis surmised that Simmons injured his hip following a Commanders pass completion late in the first half of the 35-33 defeat. The three-time All-Pro nevertheless finished the game and took every defensive snap, pacing the club in total tackles (10).

Play where Simmons got hurt. He made tackle on Bates following 3rd-and-13, 35-yd completion late in1st half. Simmons played all 73 snaps in game but has yet to practice this week. He was Iron Man playing in 66 straight games over 4+seasons til he missed 5 games last yr. #9sports pic.twitter.com/QWzfGPPN0j
— Mike Klis (@mikeklis) September 21, 2023

With Caden Sterns out for the year and PJ Locke still on injured reserve, Delarrin Turner-Yell would be the next man up if Simmons can't go against the Dolphins, whose explosive offense — averaging 30.0 points per game — leads the NFL in both total yards and passing yards.

Kareem Jackson is the other starting safety, with rookie JL Skinner assumingly to dress as a top reserve.

“If you have Justin, it’s still hard to get them stopped," Broncos defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said Thursday. "Our plan won’t change much. We have guys that we’ve handpicked to be on this team who are going to play for us. I have no issues with those guys. Even last week in the game when those kids were in the game, I was fine. I wasn’t nervous because I watched them play out here on the field. They work hard, and they are smart guys. I have no concerns about our safety depth. Having a scheme to minimize their speed and use the field against them a little bit—that’s the plan. There’s so much speed everywhere. Open-field tackling is going to be huge for us. If it's one-on-one and they make one guy miss, it can be a 30- or 40-yard gain. Being great tacklers, keeping big plays off of us, winning third downs and trying to play penalty free as best as we can. That’s the challenge this week.”

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