What Pro Bowl Safety Says About Playing for Chiefs

Justin Simmons has intercepted Patrick Mahomes six times, and Mahomes doesn’t throw a lot of picks. But if the free-agent safety had his way, he would sign with a team that would enable him to intercept Mahomes again.

Among the best available players still on the market, Simmons said Tuesday that the prospect of joining the Kansas City Chiefs doesn’t sit well with the former Broncos Pro Bowler.

“This is where my heart is torn,” Simmons told Kay Adams on Tuesday’s edition of the Up & Adams Show. “I've always been so publicly against Kansas City and it's because they're a really good team. It's not like a true, ‘Hey, I just I want to beat them.’ It's just ingrained in me to beat them.”

Simmons hasn’t beaten Mahomes very often. Since the Chiefs drafted the quarterback in 2017, he's just 1-13 over his career against him. Not including the quarterback’s first NFL start at the end of the 2017 season, when an injured ankle had ended the safety’s season, Simmons is 1-12 with the Broncos and 0-1 with the Falcons. He did, however, pick off Mahomes again in Kansas City’s 22-17 win last season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Leaving Denver on good terms as a salary-cap casualty in March 2024, Simmons joined the Falcons as a street free agent in training camp. He started 16 games last year with the Falcons, adding two interceptions and seven passes defensed. The veteran has 32 career interceptions.

But don’t expect Simmons to sign a one-year deal with the Chiefs sandwiched around tenures in Denver – Darrelle Revis did something similar in 2014 when he picked up a Super Bowl ring with New England – because his heart won’t allow it. Josh Jacobs had a similar AFC West disdain for the Chiefs in 2024 when he chose Green Bay over Kansas City.

“And he was like, ‘No, I want to beat them,’” Simmons recalled. “Honestly, I feel the exact same way. And so, am I shutting that door? Am I closing it? No. But I just want to be the team that beats them.”

Kansas City lost starting safety Justin Reid last month after the veteran signed as an unrestricted free agent with New Orleans. The Chiefs wanted to bring Reid back but couldn’t keep him and linebacker Nick Bolton and guard Trey Smith under the salary cap. Instead, the Chiefs re-signed safety Mike Edwards to at least bridge the gap as they look forward to who’s available in the draft.

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