The world is a crazy place, especially when former Steelers receiver Antonio Brown seems to be a new source of NFL information.
He isn't at an elite status of trustworthy information just yet, but no one can deny the type of deals he has leaked over the past month. He mentioned the Russell Wilson signing before many others were reporting on it. He also tweeted the Stefon Diggs trade weeks before it was a done deal.
Those could have been incredibly lucky guesses, but he did have those things first. It seems he is going for a trifecta, as Brown is teasing yet another big move for the Steelers this week.
Antonio Brown claims the Steelers will sign Justin Simmons in Free Agency soon
Pittsburgh will be signing Justin Simmons in free agency -- at some point -- according to Brown's report. He claims it could be much sooner than that. We will have to see how that plays out. It would be somewhat surprising after the Steelers signed Jalen Elliotte earlier in free agency. It would be a nice group if the black and gold were able to land Simmons.
Simmons is due for a two-year contract worth around $11 million per season. That would seem to be a little rich for Pittsburgh, especially after adding Elliotte earlier in the offseason. With Simmons still on the free agency market, one would have to imagine that he will need to decide on a smaller deal.
His market doesn't seem to be vast.
There is a way this could work, though. If Simmons were willing to take a cheaper contract on a short-term move, then it could make sense for both sides. He could try and rejuvenate his career for one last cash-in while playing on a tough defense with the Steelers.
Brown has been right before, and it seems like he is trying to be the first on this news too. We will see if it becomes reality over the next several weeks or potentially stretching into the next couple of months.
The NFL Draft will be our guide on this matter. If the Steelers don't add much to their secondary, then it could make a lot of sense to add Simmons. If they fail to take a safety, which many don't project them doing, then they could sign this veteran safety. One thing is for sure if Simmons remains a free agent past the draft, then he should sign somewhere for cheap.
Pittsburgh should be on this move if Simmons were to join on the cheaper side of things. It would create massive depth at the safety position and continue to upgrade their starting spots. It would make Damontae Kazee and Elliotte's roles on the team questionable.
Justin Simmons would help secure the safety position and create a competitive preseason to find Minkah Fitzpatrick's safety partner.