The franchise tag option opened up on Tuesday and with it the clock for the Denver Broncos to get safety Justin Simmons signed to a long-term deal has begun ticking. The deadline for the tag is March 9th, so that leaves the team with just a few weeks to work with.
Simmons played under the tag last season, but if he becomes one of just seven players in the last 13 seasons to get tagged in back-to-back seasons his salary for 2021 will rise to $13.73 million. Under John Elway, the Broncos had always used the franchise tag as a way to extend the negotiation timeframe signing four previous players to long-term deals before the following season.