LITTLETON — Here’s a switch: The Broncos killed Justin Simmons with kindness.
“What’s up, J?” Courtland Sutton asked.
First down.
“Hey, J!”
Sutton again.
First down.
“Good hit, J!”
Still Sutton.
“Nice one, J!”
Simmons looked at the scoreboard.
“Dude, stop,” he told the Broncos’ wideout last November at Empower Field. “We’re enemies.”
Broncos 38, Enemies 6.
“I don’t know how he is with other people, but I got very Larry Fitzgerald vibes from him,” Simmons, the Broncos safety from 2016-2024 and all-around good dude, recalled to me on a wicked-hot Wednesday at Arrowhead Golf Course.
“But he plays like a complete dawg. I’ve always loved Court.”
He still loves the Broncos, too. Deep down. Even when they’re kicking his backside, as they did to Simmons’ Atlanta Falcons last fall.
“What was different about that Broncos team in 2024,” I said, “compared what you lived through here with Sean Payton in 2023?”
Simmons pondered this for a second.
“That’s a really good question,” the ex-Broncos All-Pro replied. “I mean, even when I played against them and I’m watching a film, I just felt, and this is no shade at anyone — I feel when you have a team that is young, and you can mold, they buy in a lot faster than guys that are older and have seen it and have done things differently for however long that is. Right?”
“And so people can take that how they’re going to take it. It’s not a shot at anyone, but the guys bought in.
“Sean is an amazing coach. And when you have that combination, good things happen. Not all the time, right? But good things tend to happen. And so I think last year was just a byproduct of the team buying in. That showed up in a lot of their games.”
Only six guys in Broncos history have racked up more interceptions in blue and orange than Simmons’ 30 picks. No. 31 ran down almost everything over eight seasons here besides a playoff berth. Then, in one of football’s crueler ironies, the very first fall after he gets cut, the Broncos go 10-7 and snap that postseason curse like an old branch.
Seeing an ex living that well could make a guy bitter. If that guy wasn’t Justin Simmons.
“I mean, I can’t speak for Sean (Payton),” the former Broncos safety said of Denver’s third-year coach. “I have no bad blood with Sean, with anyone in the building. I loved my time there. I will always consider him a friend and a great coach …
“I loved Sean. I love the Walton-Penner group and what they have going on. Business decisions happen. And sometimes there are casualties, where both player and fans wish there wasn’t and (there) just is. And both sides could be better from it — and you see they had a successful year. And I’m so happy for them.”
At 31, Simmons has joined The Von Miller Club — a veteran free agent chasing a ring in the winter of his NFL days. But this is still home.
His charitable foundation is still based in Castle Pines. It’s why he headlined the second Justin Simmons Golf Classic here Wednesday. It’s why the proceeds were committed to mentoring young people here, promoting youth sports here, supporting education here.
“The Foundation is still super young and there are some things that we’re working through,” Simmons said. “Honestly, all I really care about, every event in my head, I’m saying, ‘There’s one kid that’s going to benefit from this and that’ll change their lives forever.’ And that means more to me than anything else.”
The clubhouse at Arrowhead felt like a throwback to 2019. Noah Fant, the tight end shipped to Seattle in the Russell Wilson trade, turned up to hit the links. So did Shelby Harris, who’s now with the Browns. What, did Vic Fangio’s invite get lost in the mail?
Speaking of Uncle Vic, the Eagles — where Fangio just won a Super Bowl ring as defensive coordinator — are allegedly still on Simmons’ short list. The 49ers, Commanders and Bengals could all use safety depth.
“I think Atlanta I would still pick 10 out of 10 times if I was in the spot (I was in) last year,” Simmons said of his next team. “But in terms of where I’m at now, (I’m) being a little bit more picky where we want to go and where we want to call home next … the next two years, a year, whatever it is … but a contender is No. 1 on the list right now.”
Like the Vonster, Simmons wants to retire a Bronco someday. And like Miller, he knows that someday probably isn’t anytime soon.
“I’m a big (Talanoa) Hufanga fan. I think he’s gonna have a tremendous time with Denver,” Simmons said of the new Broncos defensive back.
“Love both (him and linebacker Dre Greenlaw). I think it’s going to be great. I really think they’re going to do a lot better. Easier said than done, because their defense last year was lights out.”
And he thinks their QB1, Bo Nix, only scratched the surface as a rookie.
“When the head of the ship feels confident and is ready to lead and is projecting that … the rest of the guys follow suit,” Simmons said of Nix, who lit his Falcons up for four passing touchdowns last November.
“It’s just a marriage. And I think with Sean and Bo, the marriage right now is just flowing great. They both get each other. They both understand each other. And they’re both in each other’s corner. It makes for hopefully continued success, year after year after year.”
Good hit, J.
“Miss you!” a fan shouted at us as he passed.
“Thanks, man,” the safety countered. “Appreciate it.”
Simmons’ smiled at that one, a gleam as golden as the sun above. In this town, 31, you’ll always be the best of enemies.
Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.