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Tennessee Titans: Jeffery Simmons talks potential Week 7 return

By Michael Moraitis

JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 30: Jeffery Simmons #94 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs in action against the Louisville Cardinals during the TaxSlayer Bowl at EverBank Field on December 30, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Bulldogs won 31-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - DECEMBER 30: Jeffery Simmons #94 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs in action against the Louisville Cardinals during the TaxSlayer Bowl at EverBank Field on December 30, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. The Bulldogs won 31-27. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons spoke about returning to practice and a potential Week 7 return.

While Tennessee Titans fans are down in the dumps with the team having hit rock bottom in Week 6, there is a reason to be excited for the coming week: first-round pick and defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons could make his NFL debut against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Simmons is expected to practice this week, and if all goes well he could see his first action of the 2019 season in Week 7.

When the Titans drafted him No. 19 overall, there was no guarantee that Simmons would even play this season because of a torn ACL suffered in February. If not for that injury, Simmons was slated to be a top-10 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

However, we got a good idea that things were looking up for the Mississippi State product when the Titans nearly placed him on the initial 53-man roster. As it turned out, the Titans ended up placing him on the Non-Football Injury list instead to give him more time with the hope that he could play near the middle of the 2019 campaign.

Fast forward to this week and it looks like Simmons will not only practice, but he might also play in the Week 7 home game against the Chargers.

Simmons had this to say about getting back into action, courtesy of Jim Wyatt of Titans Online.

"“I am excited to get out there and play football again,” Simmons said on Monday. “I am ready. I feel ready, my body is feeling good, my knee is feeling good – that’s the main thing. So right now I just want to get out there, see how comfortable I am with it and go from there.”"

Up until this point, Simmons has been doing work on the side of Titans practices, slowly working his way back. The idea this week is for Simmons to practice, and then the Titans will make a determination as to whether or not he can play, as head coach Mike Vrabel explained.

"“We anticipate him practicing and we’ll make a smart decision as always in the best interest of the player when it deals with injuries and his comfort level and when he might return,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said of Simmons."

Whenever he does return, Simmons will be a great addition to an already elite Titans defense. Tennessee’s unit is allowing just 15.3 points per game through six weeks, the fifth-best mark in the NFL.

The Titans have notched 18 sacks this season, which is the fifth-most, and while the run defense has been mostly solid, it can certainly improve on the 104.5 rushing yards per contest it is allowing.

Jeffery Simmons will not only give a boost to the pass-rush, but he adds a big body on the interior that can help stop the run. Should Simmons play out the rest of this season and pan out as well as we think he can, the Titans might have gotten themselves a steal in the first round.

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