Broncos place S Simmons (ankle) on IR

Dec 13, 2017 - 8:02 PM The Denver Broncos placed safety Justin Simmons on injured reserve, the team announced Wednesday.

Simmons sustained an ankle injury while celebrating the strip-sack of teammate Brandon Marshall in the first quarter of Sunday's 23-0 rout of the New York Jets.

"Tough break. It's almost like a freak accident, but I'm going to be completely optimistic," Simmons told the Denver Post earlier this week. "Walking around in this boot, even putting pressure on it before the boot, it wasn't terrible."

Simmons has recorded 68 tackles, one sack and two interceptions -- with one being returned for a touchdown -- in 13 games this season.

The 24-year-old Simmons has collected 98 tackles, two sacks and four interceptions since being selected by Denver in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft.

Fellow second-year safety Will Parks filled in for Simmons when he left Sunday's game. Parks likely will be the team's starter as Denver (4-9) visits the Indianapolis Colts (3-10) on Thursday night.