“I love the idea of Justin Simmons in either the Vic Fangio–style of defense he’s played in for the Broncos since 2019, or in a Seattle Seahawks–type of defense,” writes Breer. “That’s why I’d really love to see him as the center fielder in the Niners’ defense—which has historically played the Seattle three scheme, and also just brought aboard Brandon Staley (whom Simmons knows well) from the Fangio tree. Houston would be another fun fit for Simmons, for some of the same reasons.”

Simmons is 30 and probably wants no less than $15 million per season, which is why he’s still a free agent. The longer he waits, the cheaper he could become, considering there clearly isn’t a robust market for his services. So the 49ers could wait until August to sign him if he’s still available.

Or he simply could be out of the 49ers’ price range, considering they’re trying to extend Brandon Aiyuk’s contract and signing Simmons would make extending Aiyuk even more difficult to do.

But the 49ers technically can afford Simmons and he would greatly improve a defense that fell off when All Pro safety Talanoa Hufanga went down with a torn ACL last season. It’s unclear how good he’ll be when he returns.

Unfortunately for Simmons, the 49ers historically don’t spend big money on safeties, so I doubt he’ll end up in San Francisco.