Should Eagles Sign Safety Justin Simmons? There's Some Concerns
PHILADELPHIA - It’s easy to say, “Yeah, go get Justin Simmons” after the veteran safety was released in a salary cap move on Thursday.
He makes a lot of sense for a Philadelphia Eagles team that could use a safety or two and one who played for Vic Fangio when Fangio was employed for four years by the Denver Broncos, three as their defensive coordinator and one as their head coach.
Can Philly make it happen? More importantly, do the Eagles want to make it happen?
Simmons will turn 31 in November, though he still seems to be playing at a high level, intercepting nine passes in just the past two seasons to give him 30 in his eight-year career.
Just last year, he earned his second Pro Bowl nod and was a second-team All-Pro for the fourth time in his career.
He is also reliable, having once gone three straight seasons without missing a defensive snap.
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Fangio, now the Eagles DC, did not receive many glowing reviews from members of the Miami Dolphins defense last year when Fangio spent the year in South Florida as the DC. Simmons, though, loved playing for him during their time together in Denver.
“He just loves football,” Simmons told the Denver Post after Fangio was fired as the Broncos’ head coach in early January 2022. “He sits in his office all day and watches ball… So it’s easy to go to work for someone like that and to go to bat for him because he does so much work… I’ve learned so much from him the past three years playing for him and getting to game-plan with him.”
Sounds like someone the Eagles should pursue.
Until you consider that it would require a break from their free-agent philosophy of signing players on the market who are young and coming off their first contract.
Something else to consider is how much money it would take to sign him and how many years he would want. The estimate is about $14 million per year but signing him to a three-year deal takes him through the age of 34.
Simmons was scheduled to have the fourth-highest salary cap charge for the 2024 season at $18.25 million. Would he consider a one-year deal to reunite with Fangio?
As far as the philosophy about age goes, perhaps the Eagles would be willing to bend that a bit considering they have lost some veteran leadership on this team already with Jason Kelce retiring and Fletcher Cox expected to retire or move elsewhere.
Something else to consider: Kevin Byard was known as a good leader as well, but it was a tough situation for him to step into the locker room halfway through the season after the Eagles traded a fifth and sixth-round draft pick to the Tennessee Titans at last year’s trade deadline.
Byard didn’t have the on-field impact the Eagles expected and he and Simmons are close to the same age.
The easy answer for the Eagles is to pursue Xavier McKinney if general manager Howie Roseman wants to hit a home run at the position.
McKinney is younger, set to turn 25 in August, though he may only require a tick below when Simmons will likely be looking in for in a contract.
Signing McKinney to a three-year deal is something the Eagles could do, whereas a three-year deal for Simmons may be too risky.
Whatever way Philly goes, there is one thing for sure – the safety market is flooded with players that could be good fits for Fangio, such as Jordan Poyer and Kamren Curl, to name two.
Roseman could wait for the market to settle to see which direction he would take.
