Pat Surtain II's sad 4-word response to Justin Simmons' release pretty much sums up the 2024 Broncos

Cutting a reigning All-Pro safety is a sure sign things are going poorly in Denver.

Things are not good for the Denver Broncos.

This isn’t merely limited to a playoff drought that stretches back to Peyton Manning’s playing days. It’s rooted in the fact the biggest headline Denver’s earned this offseason came when the team readied to absorb an NFL-record $85 million just so Russell Wilson would never play for the franchise again.

That ends a disastrous era whose effects will be felt for years to come. Wilson’s $242.5 million contract extension hangs like an albatross on this team’s salary cap sheet, hamstringing the Broncos with eight-figure costs in both 2024 and 2025. Even with the largest salary cap increase in league history, Denver still came into March roughly $20 million over this season’s $255.4 million spending limit.

This led to difficult decisions from the team’s front office. First and foremost; the release of star safety Justin Simmons. The veteran earned his fourth All-Pro honor amidst 2023’s lost year, but the Broncos couldn’t justify his salary when cutting him could clear up $14.5 million in cap space.

But in the process of letting go one All-Pro defensive back, Denver managed to disappoint its other All-Pro defensive back.

This one hurt man !

— Patrick Surtain (@PatSurtainll) March 7, 2024

That’s cornerback Patrick Surtain II, who’d teamed with Simmons to make the Broncos’ secondary a rare bright spot the last three seasons. He’ll head into 2024 without his trusted veteran security blanket providing help over the top for the first time in his career.

The good news is a robust marketplace of veteran safeties awaits in free agency. The bad news is Denver is still projected to be nearly $3 million over the salary cap with just four days until the legal tampering period begins. 2024 looks like another lost year for the Broncos — one that will go on without one of the team’s best players.