You can argue that the Tennessee Titans can make the playoffs next season, but you could also argue that they might have a top-10 draft pick. No matter which camp you fall in, you have to be excited about Jeffery Simmons getting a new contract.
It is hard to be optimistic about a team that has gone 0-7 in their last seven games, but looking over the roster you can see glimmers of hope for the future. On offense, those rare bright spots usually come from Treylon Burks and Chig Okonkwo, but the defense gives fans much more to be excited about.
When they are healthy, Kristian Fulton, Elijah Molden, and Amani Hooker have looked like young play-making defensive backs. Monty Rice and Azeez Al-Shaair make sense as a linebacker pairing if things work out this season. Most importantly, the pass rush looks ferocious.
At EDGE, the Tennessee Titans have a four-headed attack with Harold Landry, Denico Autry, Arden Key, and Rashad Weaver. That is a lot of speed and lateral quickness, but the straw that stirs the drink on that line is Jeffery Simmons, who just got paid like the superstar that he is.
Turron Davenport broke the news that the Tennessee Titans and Simmons agreed to a four-year extension (on top of the one-year left on his contract), on Good Friday.
What did the Tennessee Titans give Jeffery Simmons?
Simmons is one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL and he got paid like it.
By itself, the extension is going to pay him $23.5 million per year in new money. If you look at the entirety of the deal including the final year of his rookie deal, Simmons will now be playing on a 5-year/$104.75 million deal (nearly $21 million AAV).
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— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 7, 2023
Jeff Simmons gets $66M guaranteed, which includes a $24M signing bonus. In all, he’s under contract for $104.75M over 5 years (including his fifth-year options). https://t.co/1cmq9u4hHo
That is a very reasonable deal and when you look at the Tennessee tax laws, both parties should be very excited about what they walked away from the table with.
Now that Jeffery Simmons is on the books for a new deal, he joins a growing list of players that are almost guaranteed to be part of the Tennessee Titans’ young core going forward.
The aforementioned guys like Harold Landry, Arden Key, Amani Hooker, and Elijah Molden are on that list, but also guys like Treylon Burks, Andre Dillard, Nicholas Petit-Frere, and Chig Okonkwo.
As Ran Carthon continues to build the roster according to Mike Vrabel’s specifications, it will be interesting to keep an eye on the guys that they are willing to give big contracts and the guys that they spend premium draft capital on. Simmons is the first one to earn that distinction, and it is a great place to start.