Henry Alexander Kendall Simmons (born March 11, 1979) 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 on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

. He was drafted by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in the first round of the

2002 NFL Draft The 2002 NFL draft was the 67th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually sinc ...

. 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 ...

Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

. He was also a member of 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

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Early years

Simmons grew up in

Ripley, Mississippi Ripley is a city in Tippah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,395 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Tippah County. Colonel William Clark Falkner, great-grandfather of authors William Faulkner and John Faulkner, w ...

. He was a three-year starter at Ripley (Miss.) High, where he was named an All-State and PrepStar All-America selection as a senior

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

after a season when he recorded 70 tackles and four sacks, forced five fumbles and returned one for a touchdown. Simmons was named District Defensive Most Valuable Player and was voted Clarion-Ledger "Top 10" and No. 2 offensive line prospect in Mississippi. He was a Commercial Appeal "Mid-South Top 100" and was chosen to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. He also played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Before the 2003 season, Simmons was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Simmons was a starter during the first two years of his career. After being injured for the entirety of the 2004 season, he returned in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, starting in all 20 regular and postseason games and winning

Super Bowl XL Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...

with the Steelers. Simmons experienced an off-the-field injury during the

2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League. Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006. The season began with the reigning Super Bowl XL champion Pittsburgh defeating the Miami in t ...

. While rehabilitating from a heel injury, Simmons suffered a

frostbite Frostbite is a skin injury that occurs when exposed to extreme low temperatures, causing the freezing of the skin or other tissues, commonly affecting the fingers, toes, nose, ears, cheeks and chin areas. Most often, frostbite occurs in the han ...

-like burn to his left foot after he fell asleep with a cooling device attached to his foot. On September 3, 2007, Simmons signed a four-year extension with the Steelers, keeping him with the club through the

2010 NFL season The 2010 NFL season was the 91st regular season of the National Football League and the 45th of the Super Bowl era. The regular season began with the NFL Kickoff game on NBC on Thursday, September 9, at the Louisiana Superdome as the New Orle ...

. Simmons suffered a season-ending injury to his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

during a

Monday Night Football ''ESPN Monday Night Football'' (abbreviated as ''MNF'' and also known as ''ESPN Monday Night Football on ABC'' for simulcasts) is an American live television broadcast of weekly National Football League (NFL) games currently airing on ESPN, AB ...

contest against 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 ...

on September 29, 2008. He was subsequently placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was released by the Steelers on February 26, 2009.

New England Patriots

Simmons signed a three-year contract with the

on September 6, 2009 and was released on November 6, 2009.

Buffalo Bills

Simmons was signed by the

on November 24, 2009. On December 18, Simmons was placed on Injured Reserve due to a shoulder injury. He announced his retirement from football in 2011, and now lives in Auburn.

References

2
Simmons out with frostbite-like burn

External links

New England Patriots bioPittsburgh Steelers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Kendall 1979 births Living people Players of American football from Mississippi American football offensive guards Auburn Tigers football players Pittsburgh Steelers players New England Patriots players Buffalo Bills players People with type 1 diabetes People from Ripley, Mississippi