Tyrann Mathieu Blasts Broncos for their Handling of Justin Simmons Contract Situation

He might be a Division rival but the Honey Badger cannot believe the Broncos are dragging their feet with Justin Simmons.

The Denver Broncos are now just a few short hours away from the deadline to get star safety Justin Simmons extended on a multi-year deal before he will have to play on a one-year franchise-tag tender. Despite nothing but positive and optimistic rhetoric from the team brass all offseason on its priority of getting Simmons locked up long-term, the latest report has the team dragging its heels. 

Chalk it up to the pandemic and uncertainty about future revenue — whatever the rationale is at Dove Valley, some around the league are interpreting GM John Elway's reluctance to bite the bullet and reward Simmons as miserly. 

Even one of Denver's chief rivals is getting in on the criticism of Elway and the front office. Kansas City Chiefs' All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu lambasted the Broncos on Twitter for telegraphing their intentions of not getting Simmons locked down. 

He shouldn’t have to wait to get paid. He’s that good on the field & OFF! What more could one do? Some teams are getting comfortable under paying players. Keep it real! He earn it! https://t.co/zbvh4gjhLg

— Tyrann Mathieu (@Mathieu_Era) July 14, 2020

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"He shouldn’t have to wait to get paid," Mathieu tweeted on Tuesday. "He’s that good on the field & OFF! What more could one do? Some teams are getting comfortable under paying players. Keep it real! He earn it!" 

The Broncos might find it difficult to refute anything Mathieu said here. Although I can understand the rationale Elway and company might have for dragging their heels on Simmons, considering the uncertainty of the future, the truth is, the Broncos are coming off as cheap around the league. 

Only four Elway draft picks have earned a second contract with the team, not counting former college free agents like Chris Harris, Jr. and C.J. Anderson. That's a mind-boggling number considering that Elway's been in the front office nine full seasons. 

Looking at how the Chiefs, who were so close against the salary cap this past spring that many outside pundits couldn't string together any arithmetic that would allow them to get key players extended, managed to find the money to pay Patrick Mahomes (10 years/$503M) and Chris Jones (four years/$85M), the Broncos are opening themselves up to the criticism of being 'cheap'. 

According to Over The Cap, the Broncos currently have $17.25M in cap space but that's before they've had to account for paying their rookie draft class. Still, the Chiefs entered the 2020 offseason with not even enough cap space to buy a ticket to one of their own games. But because the front office valued Mahomes and Jones, the Chiefs found a way to massage the cap to get them locked down long-term. 

In the NFL, unless a team is cash-strapped, when it comes to the cap, where there's a will, there's a way. The only interpretation is that — for whatever reason — the Broncos currently lack the will to get Simmons locked down. Maybe it's because Simmons' ask has been too rich for Elway's blood but that's where negotiation comes in. 

KUSA's Mike Klis reported on Tuesday that Elway hasn't communicated with Simmons' camp since April. Interpret that how you will. 

Barring an 11th-hour accord, Simmons will play out 2020 on the franchise tag which will pay him $11.4 million. The Broncos have until 2 pm MDT this afternoon to consummate a multi-year deal with Simmons. 

UPDATE: The deadline passed with no accord. Simmons will play on the franchise tag this year. 

Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadNJensen and @MileHighHuddle.