Falcons' Justin Simmons 'Looking Forward' to Facing Former Team in Denver Broncos

Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons is really looking forward to the opportunity to face the Denver Broncos on the road for the first time since they released him this past offseason.

Atlanta Falcons safety Justin Simmons / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. That seems to perfectly summarize how 2024 has gone for safety Justin Simmons.

The Denver Broncos released Simmons just before the start of NFL free agency in March. The move saved the Broncos $18.25 million against the salary cap.

It took some time for Simmons to find a new home. But he found one with the Atlanta Falcons, where he's part of arguably the best safety tandem in the entire league.

But while Simmons has moved forward from his release, Week 11 is a potential time for reflection with the Falcons set to visit the Broncos on Nov. 17.

It's hard to imagine the safety anymore "inching" for the opportunity. While speaking to reporters Wednesday, he repeated multiple times that he was "really looking forward" to the Falcons' rare trip to the Mile High city.

"Really looking forward to going in there and finding a way to win a football game," said Simmons.

"I won't hear as many cheers, probably a little bit more boos. But again, I think that's part of it. You see all around the league go back to places where they played. They embrace the challenge of working through whatever it is, the physical aspect, the emotional aspect of it," Simmons added. "Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.

"Thankfully, I don't have to care the burden all on my own. I have amazing teammates. I'm really looking forward to this one because it's a tough place to go win at, and it's going to be a great time. I'm really looking forward to it. Go get a win there."

Simmons made second-team All-Pro four times while playing eight seasons with the Broncos. He also earned two Pro Bowl nominations during the 2020 and 2023 seasons.

In 2022, he was tied for the NFL lead with 6 interceptions.

But Simmons explained to reporters that he understood his departure from the Broncos was business. He said he saw the same happen in Denver to Super Bowl MVP Von Miller and second-team All-Pro wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

Although looking forward to the matchup, Simmons didn't suggest he will be anymore motivated to win because he was facing his former team. He told reporters he wants to get his team's seventh win heading into the bye week.

That approach doesn't surprise Falcons head coach Raheem Morris. But Morris didn't lie about how nice it would be to get a victory in Denver for Simmons.

"I don't know if you can have extra motivation to win. That's tough. For us, I think you just want to win, but, you always want to win when you’ve got a guy like Justin [Simmons] because of the high quality character human that you're talking about," Morris told reporters. "You're taking him back to a place that he played a significant amount of time in his career at. Obviously, we got lucky enough to be able to get him in the process.

"So, how nice would it be to go out there and get a win for Justin and his family that's out there right now cheering him on and hopefully having a chance to come see him play this week.”