Justin Simmons has ‘high expectations’ for the Broncos this season

Simmons took some time to speak with SB Nation about the coming season, his game day attire, and much more.

Justin Simmons is well known by Broncos fans for his performance on the field, but he’s a an interesting guy off the field, too. Simmons took some time to speak with SB Nation about his support of USAA, his own foundation, what it’s like to work with Russell Wilson, and more.

Simmons has partnered with USAA to help promote their helpful moving tips, which you can find here. Simmons showed his new teammate D.J. Jones around the Denver area.

His support of USAA stems from their commitment to serving active duty military members, our veterans, and their families — some of whom are members of Simmons’ family.

“Yeah, I think I think what’s special about it for me is the fact that they are honoring, and using their platform to authentically honor and appreciate the families of our military and veterans, and obviously, the military and the veterans themselves,” Simmons said. “And so for me, it’s a special place, because I have family members that have served, and my dad served in the Air Force for numerous years. My uncle got a Purple Heart in the Vietnam War.”

Simmons has done his share of moving around, so he was happy to introduce his new teammate to the Denver community.

“We saw Red Rocks, we saw Union Station, we went to Larimer Square, obviously, we were right outside of Mile High Stadium,” Simmons said. “And it was really cool. D.J., moving to a new city, and he’s obviously got a new home, and then a new team — all of that can be a little overwhelming. You’re not really sure what to look for. And so it was fun, being able to go around and show him around the city of Denver, some cool places to check out while he’s here.”

That’s another reason it was fun for Simmons to partner with USAA on this.

“I know how hard moving can be. I’ve had to move a lot in my life. And I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that,” he said. “And so USAA, they have helpful moving tips, which I thought were great. And it was great information. And that’s at everyone’s disposal. So you can find that at usaa.com/movers. And like I said, helpful information, because moving can be overwhelming.”

On playing with new teammate Russell Wilson

D.J. Jones isn’t Simmons’ only new teammate this offseason, and he’s also not the new teammate most people have been talking about this offseason. That would be quarterback Russell Wilson, who won Simmons over in short order with his work ethic and preparation.

“Russ has been great. I’ve shared pretty much with everyone just how awesome of a person he is,” Simmons said. “I think the coolest part about working with Russ, just in the first few months of him being a new addition to the team, was watching his preparation and his — I keep saying it over and over, but his meticulous attention to detail. I think, for me, like I haven’t really experienced that with any other player before. And so there’s a reason why he’s been so successful at the highest level, and I’m watching it kind of unfold right before my eyes, every day in practice and walkthroughs and meetings, just the way that he approaches his job and the livelihood of it is just — it’s crazy. It doesn’t happen by accident, the success that that has come with Russ.”

On maybe being the most stylish guy on Denver’s roster

There’s no denying it: Simmons’ game day attire is [flame emoji]. He’s already working with Tom Marchitelli at Gentleman’s Playbook to plan out his outfits for the 2022 season.

Simmons is extremely humble about all of it. He says he’s not sure if he is the most stylish guy on the Broncos’ roster, and gives full credit to Marchitelli, who is a fellow Boston College alumnus.

“So my guy Tom, with Gentleman’s Playbook, he’s been doing this for a while, and he’s a BC alum. So yeah, that’s how I ended up finding them,” Simmons said. “He reached out to me. And there’s a really cool brotherhood the BC alumni connection kind of has. So he reached out to me, and that was my rookie year and we’ve kind of collabed every year since.

“I wish I could take credit for my style and the suits and things that I get to pick, but Tom’s the mastermind behind everything. He comes over to the house and, just like you said, we’ll sit there — we have the game day schedule in front of us, and we’re just picking and choosing away, and he already has a plethora of combinations that he thinks would work, and I just sit there and it’s like a kid in the candy store, man. I’m saying yes to everything. He just does such a great job. And, and obviously, it’s been paying off because the suits are great, and I think the the ideas he has behind it are even better. And looking forward to this year, I think we’ve got some really good stuff for everyone this year. He does such a great job.”

On landing on the cover of Colorado Avid Golfer magazine

Simmons is still perfecting his golf game, but that didn’t keep him from gracing the cover of a recent issue of Colorado Avid Golfer magazine.

“You know, think the coolest part about it is just kind of exposing yourself to different audiences. I’ve always been a fan of golf, and I’ve always enjoyed watching it,” Simmons said. “I’d never played until the past few years. And so there’s still a lot of work to be done in my golf game and for my handicap, but the the experience of going golfing with teammates, and you know, maybe you’re doing a business meeting, you do a quick, front nine, back nine.

“I just think golf is so versatile, and you can do it for meetings, for fun, getting to know someone — a lot of times, I find it to be a lot more fun than just going out and sitting at a restaurant and eating and having conversation that way. So golfing has been great, and that was an experience shooting that magazine cover. I just thought it was really cool, just experiencing something different and exposing yourself to a different culture, environment, people.”

Giving back and supporting young people is Simmons’ priority

Simmons and his wife, Taryn, founded the Justin Simmons Foundation in 2020. The foundation’s work focuses primarily on supporting young people, including ending bullying.

“My wife and I started the Justin Simmons Foundation really in hopes just to support our youth in any way possible,” Simmons said. “I mean, that’s ultimately the the true vision and goal of this whole deal. We’ve partnered with the Boys and Girls Club, the Denver Rescue Mission.

“One of our favorite projects that we’re doing right now is, we’re sponsoring or helping sponsor a musical called Speak Life End Bullying, and we just think it’s going to be the best thing that’s happened to our schools in probably the longest time. I think this new age of technology and everything that’s kind of going on with social media, and there’s so many different forms of bullying, and those are manifested in different ways. And I think exposing our children to this, and having them watch this film would be life-changing and super inspirational. I’ve seen it and I’ve seen the messages that are set behind it, and it’s truly is so impactful, and it’s so heavy, and there’s so many good things in there that I think a lot of kids can relate to. So it’s things like that we’re so happy to be involved in and to be a part of, and it’s just such a blessing for both of us, because our youth is our future. And we always say, we just want to invest in them — invest in them because they are our future.”

Visit the Justin Simmons Foundation website to learn more about their efforts and to support them.

Simmons has high expectations for the Broncos this year

It’s shaping up to be an interesting season in Denver, and Simmons’ expectations for himself and his teammates are very high.

“I think the team in general has high expectations. I don’t think any of us are shying away from that. I think no one’s gonna have higher expectations than us,” he said. “And one of the goals is not just getting to the postseason, but winning in the postseason. Right? And obviously, the ultimate goal is getting to the big game and and winning it. I think we have a team that is roster-wise is just as good as any other team in the NFL. And we know that’s not what wins games, but we like our chances.

“And I’m just really excited to get out there and just prove with wins that we’re able to do that.”