The San Francisco 49ers are a team that’s looking to contend this upcoming 2026 NFL season and could use help at the safety position. As a result, one insider is speculating whether veteran safety Justin Simmons makes sense for the Niners.
Simmons, who has played for the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, drew interest from several teams last summer, but the two-time Pro Bowler ended up sitting out the whole season. Nonetheless, the 32-year-old hasn’t ruled out continuing his career.
“I’m still a free agent, looking to play for a contender, and we’ll see where that ends up,” Simmons said on his new podcast, The Weekly Cut.
With the draft on the horizon, some teams could miss out on targets, leading them to either make a trade or consider veteran free agents on the market. David Lombardi, who covers the 49ers for the SF Standard, shared his thoughts on the Niners possibly pursuing Simmons.
“The 49ers need to add a safety, and Justin Simmons, the former All‑Pro, still wants to play,” Lombardi said on March 28 on his YouTube channel. “… The safety free‑agent market is rough, and I agree with Richard Sherman. I do think that the 49ers still need to bolster that position… Somebody like Justin Simmons is out there, but Simmons has not played in over a year.
“In 2024, he was playing under Raheem Morris, who’s now the 49ers defensive coordinator. He played for $7.5 million guaranteed for the Atlanta Falcons, but his missed‑tackle rate was 19.8 percent. He missed a career‑high 16 tackles. It was not a good year for Justin Simmons, whose best career year was way back in 2019 for Denver. And a lot of these veteran safeties are still out there.”
49ers Urged to Avoid Pursuing Veteran Joey Bosa
Simmons isn’t the only veteran in the speculation mill the Niners could look at; Joey Bosa is another name. San Francisco needs to bolster their pass rush, and the veteran edge rusher could help fill that need for them.
Bosa had 17 solo tackles, 12 assisted tackles, and 5.0 sacks in 15 regular season games in 2025 for the Buffalo Bills, per StatMuse. San Francisco could use that production from the older Bosa, Grant Cohn, who covers the 49ers for On SI, says that he doesn’t fit the profile that defensive coordinator Raheem Morris wants.
“I just don’t think the 49ers are interested in Joey Bosa,” Cohn said on March 24 on his YouTube channel. “Maybe Nick is. Maybe Cheryl Bosa is interested in this, you know, teaming together. I just don’t see why Raheem Morris would want it. Seems like what Raheem Morris is looking for is a very specific type of player, an outside linebacker. That is not Joey Bosa.
“The way Raheem Morris usually coaches his defense, I’m not a Raheem Morris expert, but I’ve followed him when he was in the NFC West with the Rams. He was a head coach. He wants guys on the edge who can drop into coverage. That’s a necessary skill; it’s part of his scheme when he’s calling coverages and blitzes.
“He wants guys on the edge who can drop into coverage, not once a season but two or three times a game. He already has one edge guy who can’t do that in Nick Bosa.”
Does Joey Bosa Make Sense for the Niners?
Recently, NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco shared his thoughts on the potential move for the Niners to add another pass rusher, noting that it makes sense.
“[The] 49ers still have a little bit of money to be able to add an edge rusher,” Maiocco said in a March 14 video from his YouTube channel. “I would think the guy at the top of the list is Joey Bosa… To me, Joey Bosa makes sense. I do not think he is going to be as costly as he was a year ago, when he accounted for about $13 million for the one season with the Buffalo Bills.
“Joey Bosa turns 31 in July. He started 15 games for Buffalo last year and played 64 percent of the snaps. He had five sacks and five forced fumbles. So he can still play. The question is whether he is an every-down player at this stage in his career. He pretty much was with the Buffalo Bills.”
