Justin Simmons claims that his Sunday hit on Jimmy Garoppolo, which resulted in a personal foul and forced the Las Vegas quarterback to the sidelines for a concussion assessment, was entirely legal.
After the bang-bang play in the first quarter of Las Vegas’ 17-16 victory in which he first seemed to hit the Raiders’ new quarterback in the head, Simmons praised Garoppolo for a “great acting” job.
Garoppolo was being dragged down by Denver outside linebacker Frank Clark during the game’s opening drive as he struggled for the first down. Garoppolo stumbled to the ground as Simmons charged in and pounced at the quarterback.
Garoppolo missed two plays as a result of being taken out of the game by the NFL spotter for a concussion assessment. On third-and-goal, the Raiders called a timeout, allowing Garoppolo to be cleared. He then re-entered the game and connected with Jakobi Meyers for the first of his two touchdown throws.
“I did see that, somebody sent me (the clip), a close friend of mine,” Simmons stated on Wednesday. “I suppose Jimmy did a terrific job acting. But if I’m fined… Anyone who sees that clip, in my opinion, can tell there was no force used to remove the helmet. The rest of what I was aiming for, I believe I struck either his back or Frank after striking his shoulder pad with my elbow.
“Those plays are so crucial on third down and bang-bang. Simmons continued, “I’m not really sure how close the yardage was in real time. “I don’t set the rules, but I didn’t think the fine was appropriate. If it was, I’m confident we’ll succeed in our appeal to that.
One of Denver’s defense’s half-dozen flags in the first game was that one.
When third-year pro Caden Sterns tore his left patellar tendon tackling running back Josh Jacobs in the first half, the Broncos also lost Simmons’ new partner at safety.
Sterns’ season was most certainly over on Wednesday when the Broncos placed him on injured reserve. Wide receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey was elevated off the practice squad to take his place on the roster.
However, considering the next man up in this situation is 14-year veteran Kareem Jackson, who had started alongside Simmons for the previous four seasons before being edged out by Sterns last summer, it’s not like Simmons needs to forge chemistry all over again with a rookie backup.
Yes, it is very helpful, remarked Simmons. “Kareem, in general, brings a lot to the room, you know. It’s difficult to see Caden suffer a serious injury because he was crucial to our defensive strategy. Because the child does a lot for us individually and collectively, we will all need to stand up and fill that space.
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