Justin Simmons announced his retirement from the NFL on Wednesday, ending an eight-season run with the Broncos. The former Denver safety said he plans to return for the 2026 regular season home opener as a fan, shifting from No. 31 on the field to the lower bowl in the stands.
Justin Simmons Leaves Denver
He spent eight seasons in Denver after the Broncos took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Simmons wore No. 31, served as a team captain, and became a Pro Bowl player and four-time All-Pro during that stretch.
“I think what I've done in my career and playing, I will always hold near and dear and at a very high place in my chart of life,” he said in a recent interview. He added, “They took a chance on me, extended me. This is my home.”
The Broncos described Simmons as a constant on game days for the better part of a decade, and his résumé in Denver included three Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominations. That mix of production and leadership is what made the retirement announcement more than a routine roster note: it closes the book on one of the steadier defensive presences of the franchise's recent era.
Broncos Home Opener Plans
Simmons said he wants the return trip to feel like a fan’s day, not a ceremonial appearance. “I can't wait to go to the home opener and be a fan,” he said, adding, “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.”
He also wants the full pregame routine. “I've never gotten to do that, as crazy as that sounds,” Simmons said. “I want to go tailgate; I want to see the crazy Instagram people that have crazy fire trucks and all of those things.”
That’s a sharp turn for a player who was once part of the game-day machinery itself. “I'm always going to be a Bronco, and I'm always going to be a Broncos fan,” Simmons said, and the retirement leaves Denver with a familiar former captain now joining the people he used to lead.
