Jeffery Simmons

Jeffery Simmons

Simmons with the Tennessee Titans in 2021
No. 98 – Tennessee Titans
Position:	Defensive end
Personal information
Born:	(1997-07-28) July 28, 1997 (age 26) Jena, 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
Tennessee Titans (2019–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
2× Second-team All-Pro (2021, 2022) 2× Pro Bowl (2021, 2022) Conerly Trophy (2018) 2× First-team All-SEC (2017, 2018)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 13, 2023
Total tackles: 233 Sacks: 26.5 Forced fumbles: 3 Fumble recoveries: 4 Pass deflections: 20
Player stats at NFL.com  ·  PFR

Jeffery Bernard Simmons Jr. ^[1] (born July 28, 1997) is an American football defensive end 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 Combine [6] [7]

2019 season

See also: 2019 Tennessee Titans season

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

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] During the Titans' Week 11 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars, Simmons scored his first NFL career touchdown on a 2-yard pass from quarterback Will Levis after being declared an eligible receiver. On December 23, Simmons was placed on season-ending injured reserve.

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
2023	TEN	12	12	44	30	14	5.5	1	1	2	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	1
Career		68	66	233	139	94	26.5	3	4	2	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	20

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". Titans Wire. USA Today. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
16. Moraitis, Mike (October 15, 2020). "Titans activate Jeffery Simmons from COVID-19 list, put Darrynton Evans on IR". Titans Wire. USA Today. 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. April 25, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
20. Patra, Kevin (April 7, 2023). "Titans, DT Jeffery Simmons agree to terms on blockbuster four-year, $94 million contract extension". NFL.com. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
21. "Jeffery Simmons apologizes after violent video emerges". March 26, 2016.
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

• Career statistics and player information from Sports Reference (college)
• Tennessee Titans bio
• Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
• Jeffery Simmons on Twitter