Jeffery Simmons has started the AJ Brown negotiation tactics with Titans
The Tennessee Titans are already dealing with some minor offseason drama
The offseason is young, but the Tennessee Titans are already dealing with some drama.
And it's drama that will feel familiar.
Tennessee is hoping to extend defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, who is set to be a free agent after the 2023 season, sometime this offseason.
Simmons has made it clear that he'd prefer to stay with the Titans.
"Whenever we get to that point (contract extension), I feel very confident that I’ll be here in Tennessee, and I want to be in Tennessee," said Simmons at the Pro-Bowl last month. "So, we’ll see how that goes."
The Titans would undoubtedly prefer to extend Simmons this offseason instead of having to possibly utilize the franchise tag next offseason.
But getting a deal done could be tough. Simmons is one of the top defensive players in the NFL and he'll likely want to be paid as such.
On Sunday, ESPN's Dan Graziano confirmed that Tennessee and Simmons have started discussing a longterm deal.
Also on Sunday, Simmons broke out a newly popular negotiation tactic.
The former Mississippi State star took down various photos from his Instagram account and unfollowed the Titans.
Former Titans wide receiver AJ Brown did something similar last April just days before getting traded on draft night.
Brown removed "Tennessee" from his Twitter account on April 19. He was traded nine days later.
Others have used similar tactics during contract negotiations. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, for example, did the same thing last year during the offseason before eventually signing an extension.
The expectation is that Tennessee will re-sign Simmons. But until that happens, fans will be nervous. In part because of what happened with Brown last offseason and also because of the multiple blockbuster trades we saw last year involving superstars in similar situations (Davante Adams, Tyreek Hill, etc).
Simmons is a player the Titans can't let slip away. If new GM Ran Carthon is unable to get an extension done, it'll be a haunting reminder of the mistake that Jon Robinson made just a year ago with Brown.
