Buffalo, NY – May 1, 2025
The Buffalo Bills faced a glaring weakness in 2024, with their secondary allowing a 68.5% completion rate, exploited by Kansas City’s 430-yard playoff barrage. As Josh Allen’s 4,306-yard offense drives a 2025 Super Bowl quest, Brandon Beane seeks a game-changer to fortify the backfield.
Beane delivered, signing 8-time Pro Bowl safety Justin Simmons to a one-year, $7.5 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The move pairs Simmons with Taylor Rapp, aiming to transform Allen’s defense into a championship force.
Simmons, 31, tallied 62 tackles and 2 interceptions for Atlanta in 2024, adding to his 32 career picks. With James Cook’s $15 million contract dispute unresolved, Beane leveraged $27.37 million from cuts like Dane Jackson and Von Miller to secure the ball-hawking veteran.
Drafted by Denver in 2016, Simmons led the NFL with 6 interceptions in 2022, earning four Second-Team All-Pro nods. His 2019 season (93 tackles, 4 INT) and 2023 (70 tackles, 3 INT, PFF 90.8) highlight his elite coverage, complementing Rapp’s 72 tackles and box safety grit.
“Simmons is a superstar,” Beane told The Buffalo News’ Ryan O’Halloran. “He’ll revolutionize Allen’s defense.”
The Bills’ 2024 secondary, with Cole Bishop and Damar Hamlin faltering in deep coverage, crumbled against the Chiefs. Simmons’s 51 forced incompletions since 2016 mentor Bishop, boosting a defense with only 14 takeaways (20th in NFL). Rapp’s $4.35 million cap hit ensures stability.
Cook’s 1,086 rushing yards will thrive with a lockdown backfield, as Simmons’s instincts counter threats like Travis Kelce. The signing, fueled by 2025 draftees like Maxwell Hairston, aligns with Beane’s all-in strategy to topple Kansas City’s aerial attack.
“He’s the key,” NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks said. “Simmons propels Allen to a Super Bowl.”
