Justin Simmons is visiting the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday, but he isn't walking into his meeting blind. Saints head coach Dennis Allen says a prolonged dialogue led to this stage in negotiations. With more and more veteran safeties signing free agent contracts, the market is beginning to dictate what Simmons' options are.

"He's a player that's shown an interest in us," Allen said after Wednesday's practice session. "We've got guys on our staff that have connections with him, guys that played with him. It's exactly what it is, it's a visit and we'll talk about how we would see him, what type of vision we would have for him. And then if what we're looking for and what he's looking for match up, then we'll see if it goes further than that."

Simmons was coached by Joe Woods and Marcus Robertson on the Denver Broncos for several years and those connections are what warmed the Saints up to him; Allen noted their relationships as an obvious appeal to the player. He also clarified that these talks have been going on for months.

Allen said that he wasn't sure when those talks started, though he believes it was at or around the draft in April: "I don't know exactly, probably some time in the spring there was a little bit of back and forth. We and he were not probably on the same page in what we were willing to do or what he's looking for. I think as it gets closer to the season we're closer on both sides."

Will they reach a deal? Simmons wouldn't have flown into town to sit down with coaches and have team doctors put him through a full physical if they weren't close on the financial aspect. We'll see if the Saints can get this over the finish line, but everything we're hearing so far is encouraging.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Dennis Allen says Saints have been in prolonged contact with Justin Simmons