Jeffery Bernard Simmons Jr. (born July 28, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

for the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

and was drafted by the Titans with the 19th pick in the

2019 NFL Draft The 2019 NFL Draft was the 84th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2019 NFL season. The draft was held on April 25–27 in Nashville, Tennessee. The first round was held on April 2 ...

College career

After a standout career playing at Noxubee County High School in Mississippi, Simmons was considered a five-star prospect and committed to

over

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

and Ole Miss. Simmons played in 12 games, starting three, as a true freshman in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. He had a breakout season in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and was a consensus selection to the

2017 All-SEC football team The 2017 All-SEC football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) chosen by the ''Associated Press'' (AP) and the conference coaches for the 2017 Southeastern Conference football season. Geor ...

. On December 20, 2018, Simmons declared for the

. On February 12, 2019, Simmons tore his ACL while training for the draft.

College statistics

Professional career

Simmons was drafted by the

with the 19th pick in the

2019 season: Rookie year

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. He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the 2019 season while recovering from his torn ACL. On October 19, 2019, the Titans activated Simmons from the non-football injury list. He made his NFL debut the next day against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

. In the game, Simmons recorded 4 tackles and sacked

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was sele ...

once in the 23–20 win. 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 The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

and the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

before losing the AFC Championship game against eventual Super Bowl champions,

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, with Simmons playing in all three games. In the Divisional Round against the Ravens, Simmons recovered a fumble forced by teammate

Jurrell Casey Jurrell Juel Casey (born December 5, 1989) is a former American football defensive lineman. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. In nine seasons with the Titan ...

Lamar Jackson Lamar Demeatrice Jackson Jr. (born January 7, 1997) is an American football quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisville, where he won the Heisman Trophy during his soph ...

during the 28–12 road victory.

2020 season

During Week 3 against the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

, Simmons recorded his first sack of the season during the 31–30 road victory. Simmons was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

list by the team on October 3. He was activated on October 15. In Week 9 against the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

, 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. Simmons was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Week 9.

2022 season

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

NFL statistics

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 The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

and then spent time with the

while his uncle,

Jason Hatcher Jason Dewayne Hatcher (born July 13, 1982) is a former American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players o ...

, played 10 total seasons with the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. 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 afte
a video
surfaced showing him repeatedly hitting a woman while she was on the ground during a fight with Simmons' sister and mother. ;Spitting accusation :Following the 2019-2020 Divisional Playoff game between the

and the

, Ravens' guard

Marshal Yanda Marshal John Yanda (born September 15, 1984) is an American former football guard who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Ravens. He played college football at the University of Iowa, and was drafted by the Ravens i ...

br>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. :The first time Simmons was asked about the event by a reporter durin
an interview
before a practice the following week, Simmons did not directly deny the accusation.

References

External links

Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Jeffery 1997 births Living people Players of American football from Mississippi People from Macon, Mississippi American football defensive tackles Mississippi State Bulldogs football players Tennessee Titans players Ed Block Courage Award recipients American Conference Pro Bowl players