Four-Time All-Pro Justin Simmons Retires After Nine NFL Seasons

Four-time All-Pro safety Justin Simmons has called it a career. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that Simmons officially retired from the NFL after nine seasons.

Simmons spent the bulk of his career with the Denver Broncos after being drafted in 2016, playing eight seasons in Denver before spending the 2024 campaign with the Atlanta Falcons. He did not play in the NFL in 2025.

The Boston College product leaves the game as one of the most decorated safeties of his generation. Over 134 career games, Simmons recorded 32 interceptions — one of which he returned for a touchdown — and forced five fumbles. Despite those numbers, Simmons never played in a postseason game throughout his entire career.

Former NFL Safety Justin Simmons Announces Retirement

His farewell was fitting for a player who became synonymous with the city of Denver.

"I would just love to be remembered as not just a Bronco, but just a man that gave his all to the team, the city," Simmons said in a statement posted on the Broncos' official website.

The sentiment ran even deeper in a separate video posted by the team.

"Being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team," Simmons said. "It was my heart, my home, and my story."

Simmons was a two-time, first-team All-Pro selection (4x overall), cementing himself as one of the premier safeties in the league during his prime years in Denver. His departure from the Broncos after the 2023 season felt abrupt to many fans, making Wednesday's retirement announcement a bittersweet but proper sendoff for one of the franchise's most beloved defensive players in recent memory.

The three-time Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee told DenverBroncos.com, "I can't wait to go to the home opener and be a fan. I don't want to go sit in a suite. I want to go sit as close as I can, maybe in the lower bowl, and cheer on the team."