The Las Vegas Raiders are going to look different on defense this season from a personnel perspective. The team lost several key starters on defense like Robert Spillane, Marcus Epps, Tre'von Moehrig and Divine Deablo in free agency.
The biggest loss could be Moehrig, who had developed into one of the best young safeties in the NFL. The team signed Jeremy Chinn to replace him and already gave an extension to Isaiah Pola-Mao but they may want to add even more depth.
Justin Simmons is coming off a down season with the Atlanta Falcons but was one of the best safeties in the NFL while with the Denver Broncos. Many Raiders players should be very familiar with Simmons' game from his time in the AFC West.
He's going to turn 32 during the season so he's a bit long in the tooth but could help add some strong depth to the secondary. Christian D'Andrea of For The Win named the Raiders as one of the best fits for Simmons in free agency.
"Simmons backslid a bit in Atlanta, even with a rangy free safety in Jessie Bates to give him more freedom out of the secondary," D'Andrea wrote. "His 4.7 percent run stop rate was a career low, but he remained useful in coverage and, importantly, is a veteran presence who knows where to be and sets the tone with his discipline and physicality."
Simmons shouldn't be expensive at this stage in his career and he's likely come on a one-year deal. It certainly wouldn't be a risk for the Raiders to add him.