The Titans are playing with fire with Jeffery Simmons' contract
Tennessee Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was highlighted in a recent article published by The Athletic. Unfortunately, the piece also highlighted some concerning details about Simmons' offseason contract negotiations with the Titans. The piece, written by Dan Pompei, focused on Simmons as "the best defensive tackle this side of Aaron Donald," while commending the […]
Tennessee Titans star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was highlighted in a recent article published by The Athletic. Unfortunately, the piece also highlighted some concerning details about Simmons' offseason contract negotiations with the Titans.
The piece, written by Dan Pompei, focused on Simmons as "the best defensive tackle this side of Aaron Donald," while commending the 25-year old Simmons for his work ethic and strive for greatness despite two looming issues:
Simmons is both underrated and underpaid.
Despite currently pacing for 13 sacks in 2022 (5.5 through seven games) and being one of the game's very best defensive players, Simmons will only make around $2.2 million this season in the fourth of five years on his rookie contract.
The Titans were believed to be in contact with Simmons regarding a potential contract extension during the offseason, but the two sides were not able to get a deal done, leaving Simmons to be an unrestricted free agent following the 2023 season should it get to that point.
As it would turn out, those "negotiations" were hardly negotiations at all. In fact, Simmons says the Titans never put in any sort of offer. Here's how Simmons described the contract talks in Pompei's article:
“It was, ‘We want you to be here, but we don’t know exactly when we’ll be able to pay you,’” Simmons said. “The Titans were like, ‘We don’t know if we’re going to be able to offer you what you think you are worth. We want to pay you, but we don’t know where it’s going to come from.’ That’s basically what it was, not an offer.”
That sort of non-committal, front office jargon sounds awfully familiar, doesn't it?
When you hesitate to pony up and pay your premier players, tensions can build and relationships can strain. Somehow, the Titans may have failed to learn that lesson with the whole A.J. Brown saga.
As of now, Simmons does not appear to be too focused on the contract issue. When asked by Titans media about the comment he made to The Athletic, Simmons redirected the question with a smile, and discussed the upcoming matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
"Patrick Mahomes, hopefully I can get to him this weekend," Simmons said with a grin. "My focus is that. I'm not worried about a contract right now. I'm focused on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs."
Kudos to Simmons for being a good sport. He's always been an exemplary teammate over his Titans tenure, and the last thing he wants is to be a distraction or hurt the team. Winning has always been his priority.
He later followed up with a tweet to reiterate his stance:
Again, good on Simmons for taking the high road, but this dispute may come to a head eventually, and the Titans need to be very careful with how they handle this moving forward.
Don't know where the money is coming from? You better find it.
Simmons is an invaluable piece of your defensive front that has covered up numerous roster holes with his dominance in the trenches. He is a game wrecker, a consummate pro, and everything the Tennessee Titans embody as an organization. Maybe most important of all, he wants to be in Nashville.
Pushing Simmons away with non-competitive contract offers would be inexcusable. You do not let him leave your building.
There is still plenty of time to salvage things, but shrugging your shoulders and failing to make an offer during the offseason is a really poor start.
The Titans are playing with fire. And they better hope it doesn't burn them.
Image via Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
