Jeffery Simmons
refer to caption
Simmons with the Tennessee Titans in 2021
No. 98 – Tennessee Titans
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1997-07-28) July 28, 1997 (age 25)
LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:305 lb (138 kg)
Career information
High school:Noxubee County (Macon, Mississippi)
College:Mississippi State (2016–2018)
NFL Draft:2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 19
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2022
Total tackles:189
Sacks:21.0
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:3
Pass deflections:19
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Jeffery Bernard Simmons Jr.[1] (born July 28, 1997) is an American football defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL).[2] He played college football at Mississippi State and was drafted by the Titans with the 19th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

College career

After a standout career playing at Noxubee County High School in Mississippi, Simmons was considered a five-star prospect[3] and committed to Mississippi State over Alabama and Ole Miss.[4]

Simmons played in 12 games, starting three, as a true freshman in 2016. He had a breakout season in 2017 and was a consensus selection to the 2017 All-SEC football team. On December 20, 2018, Simmons declared for the 2019 NFL Draft. On February 12, 2019, Simmons tore his ACL while training for the draft.[5]

College statistics

Mississippi State Bulldogs
Season Class Pos GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF
2016 FR DL 12 12 28 40 3 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 2 0 0 0 2
2017 SO DL 13 21 39 60 12 5.0 0 0 0.0 0 1 2 0 1 2
2018 JR DT 13 25 38 63 18 2.0 0 0 0.0 0 4 0 0 0 1
Career 38 58 105 163 33 7.0 0 0 0.0 0 7 2 0 1 5

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span Bench press Wonderlic
6 ft 3+3⁄4 in
(1.92 m) 		305 lb
(138 kg) 		34+1⁄2 in
(0.88 m) 		10+1⁄4 in
(0.26 m)		 28 reps 14
All values from NFL Draft[6][7]

Simmons was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the 19th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.[8]

2019 season: Rookie year

See also: 2019 Tennessee Titans season

On May 22, 2019, Simmons signed a four-year $12.66 million rookie contract with a team option for a fifth year with a $7.23 million signing bonus.[9] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the 2019 season while recovering from his torn ACL.[10]

On October 19, 2019, the Titans activated Simmons from the non-football injury list.[11] He made his NFL debut the next day against the Los Angeles Chargers. In the game, Simmons recorded 4 tackles and sacked Philip Rivers once in the 23–20 win.[12] The Titans finished with a 9–7 record, qualifying for the playoffs, with Simmons starting all seven games from weeks 8 to 15, recording 32 tackles, two sacks, and one pass deflection.

In the playoffs, the Titans won upsets over the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens before losing the AFC Championship game against eventual Super Bowl champions, Kansas City Chiefs, with Simmons playing in all three games. In the Divisional Round against the Ravens, Simmons recovered a fumble forced by teammate Jurrell Casey on Lamar Jackson during the 28–12 road victory.[13]

2020 season

See also: 2020 Tennessee Titans season

During Week 3 against the Minnesota Vikings, Simmons recorded his first sack of the season during the 31–30 road victory.[14] Simmons was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list by the team on October 3.[15] He was activated on October 15.[16] In Week 9 against the Chicago Bears, Simmons forced a fumble on running back David Montgomery that was recovered and returned by teammate Desmond King for a 63 yard touchdown during the 24–17 win.[17] Simmons was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 9.[18]

Simmons in 2022
Simmons in 2022

2022 season

The Titans picked up the fifth-year option on Simmons' contract on April 27, 2022.[19]

2023 season

On April 7, 2023, Simmons signed a four-year, $94 million contract extension with the Titans.[20]

NFL career statistics

Regular season statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2019 TEN 9 7 32 18 14 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
2020 TEN 15 15 49 24 25 3.0 1 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 5
2021 TEN 17 17 54 42 12 8.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 6
2022 TEN 15 15 54 25 29 7.5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 7
Career 56 54 189 109 80 21.0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 19
Postseason statistics
Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck FF FR Yds TD Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
2019 TEN 3 0 3 1 2 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2020 TEN 1 1 3 2 1 0.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
2021 TEN 1 1 8 7 1 3.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
Career 5 2 14 10 4 3.0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0

Personal life

In college, Simmons was a two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Simmons' brother, Dylan Bradley, played football at Southern Miss and then spent time with the Minnesota Vikings while his uncle, Jason Hatcher, played 10 total seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. Away from football, Simmons enjoys fishing and spending time outdoors. He has a son named Jeffery Jr. and two sisters, Brooke and Ashley.

Controversy

Arrest for assault

In March 2016 during his senior year in high school, Simmons was arrested and pleaded no contest to assault after a video surfaced showing him repeatedly hitting a woman while she was on the ground during a fight with Simmons' sister and mother.[21][22]

Spitting accusation

Following the 2019-2020 Divisional Playoff game between the Tennessee Titans and the Baltimore Ravens, Ravens' guard Marshal Yanda accused Simmons of spitting in his face during the game. This was the first and only time in Yanda's 13-year NFL career that he had publicly accused another player of anything.[23][24]

"I do want to say another thing. No. 98 [Simmons] for the Titans - I had that guy spit in my face today. I just want to put him on notice in the media. I've never done this in my career, but I just want to let you know that there's a right way and a wrong way to play football. That guy did not do it the right way today."

— Marshal Yanda

The first time Simmons was asked about the event by a reporter during an interview before a practice the following week, Simmons did not directly deny the accusation.[25][26]

“I know what I did and I know what I didn’t do. At this point in time — today is Wednesday — I’m focused on the Chiefs right now and helping my team win. What I did this past game, what I didn’t do this past game, is not going to help us win this week, so I’m focused on what I can do to win, and what I will do to help get this win this Sunday.”

— Jeffery Simmons

References

  1. ^ "Jeffery Simmons". HailState.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  2. ^ "Jeffery Simmons (DT): Bio, News, Stats & more". www.tennesseetitans.com. Retrieved May 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Jeffery Simmons". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  4. ^ Cleveland, Tyler (February 3, 2016). "Jeffery Simmons signs with MSU". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  5. ^ Scarborough, Alex (December 20, 2018). "Mississippi State lineman Jeffery Simmons declares for NFL draft". ESPN. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
  6. ^ "2019 Draft Scout Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  7. ^ "Jeffery Simmons 2019 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  8. ^ Sessler, Marc (April 25, 2019). "Tennessee Titans select Jeffery Simmons at No. 19". NFL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  9. ^ Bacharach, Erik (May 22, 2019). "Titans, Simmons agree to terms". Tennessean.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  10. ^ Wyatt, Jim (August 31, 2019). "Roster Moves: Titans Trim Roster to 53 Players While Also Trading WR Taywan Taylor to Browns". TitansOnline.com.
  11. ^ Davenport, Turron (October 19, 2019). "Titans activate first-round pick Jeffery Simmons". ESPN.com.
  12. ^ "Casey recovers fumble, Titans hold off Chargers' rally 23-20". www.espn.com. October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  13. ^ "Titans stun Ravens, head to AFC title game with 28-12 win". www.espn.com. Associated Press. January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  14. ^ "Tennessee Titans at Minnesota Vikings - September 27th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  15. ^ Moraitis, Mike (October 3, 2020). "Tennessee Titans add Jeffery Simmons to COVID-19 list". USAToday.com. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  16. ^ Moraitis, Mike (October 15, 2020). "Titans activate Jeffery Simmons from COVID-19 list, put Darrynton Evans on IR". USAToday.com. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  17. ^ "Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans - November 8th, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  18. ^ Gordon, Grant (November 11, 2020). "Vikings RB Dalvin Cook, Bills QB Josh Allen lead Players of the Week". NFL.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  19. ^ "Fifth-year option tracker for first-round picks from the 2019 NFL Draft". NFL.com.
  20. ^ Patra, Kevin (April 7, 2023). "Titans, DT Jeffery Simmons agree to terms on blockbuster four-year, $94 million contract extension". NFL.com.
  21. ^ "Jeffery Simmons apologizes after violent video emerges".
  22. ^ "Jeffery Simmons video: Footage of Titans draft pick hitting woman brings criticism of team, player". The Tennessean.
  23. ^ "Ravens' Yanda: Titans' Simmons spit in my face". January 12, 2020.
  24. ^ @Andrew_Gillis70 (January 12, 2020). "Here's Marshal Yanda on Jeffrey..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Titans DL Jeffery Simmons reacts to Ravens guard's spit accusation". January 15, 2020.
  26. ^ @PaulKuharskyNFL (January 15, 2020). ".@GrindSimmons94 on @YandaMarshal's..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.

External links

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