Jeffery Simmons
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). He played college football at Mississippi State.
![]() Simmons with the Titans in 2019 | |||||||||||||||
No. 98 – Tennessee Titans | |||||||||||||||
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Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | LaSalle Parish, Louisiana | July 28, 1997||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 301 lb (137 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Noxubee County (MS) | ||||||||||||||
College: | Mississippi State | ||||||||||||||
NFL Draft: | 2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 19 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
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Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2019 | |||||||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
College career
After a standout career playing at Noxubee County High School in Mississippi, Simmons was considered a five-star prospect[2] and committed to Mississippi State over Alabama and Ole Miss.[3]
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.[4]
Professional career
Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand size | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | ||
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6 ft 3 3⁄4 in (1.92 m) |
301 lb (137 kg) |
34 1⁄2 in (0.88 m) |
10 1⁄4 in (0.26 m) |
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All values from NFL Combine[5] |
Simmons was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the 19th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.[6]
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.[7] He was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list to start the 2019 season while recovering from his torn ACL.[8]
On October 19, 2019, the Titans activated Simmons from the non-football injury list.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]
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 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.[12]
References
- "Jeffery Simmons". HailState.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- "Jeffery Simmons". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- Cleveland, Tyler (February 3, 2016). "Jeffery Simmons signs with MSU". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- Scarborough, Alex (December 20, 2018). "Mississippi State lineman Jeffery Simmons declares for NFL draft". ESPN. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
- "Jeffery Simmons Combine Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- Sessler, Marc (April 25, 2019). "Tennessee Titans select Jeffery Simmons at No. 19". NFL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
- Bacharach, Erik (May 22, 2019). "Titans, Simmons agree to terms". Tennessean.com. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
- Wyatt, Jim (August 31, 2019). "Roster Moves: Titans Trim Roster to 53 Players While Also Trading WR Taywan Taylor to Browns". TitansOnline.com.
- Davenport, Turron (October 19, 2019). "Titans activate first-round pick Jeffery Simmons". ESPN.com.
- "Casey recovers fumble, Titans hold off Chargers' rally 23-20". www.espn.com. October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
- "Titans stun Ravens, head to AFC title game with 28-12 win". www.espn.com. Associated Press. January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
- "Jeffery Simmons". Tennessee Titans. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Sports Reference (college)
- Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
- Jeffery Simmons on Twitter