The Tennessee Titans defeated the New England Patriots on Sunday, winning a Week 9 thriller 20-17 in overtime despite giving up a dramatic game-tying touchdown on fourth-and-goal as time expired. The result delivered a sigh of relief for head coach Brian Callahan, but it changes little about the immediate outlook. General manager Ran Carthon should continue being a seller ahead of Tuesday's NFL trade deadline. Carthon has already gotten draft picks back for DeAndre Hopkins and Ernest Jones IV, and more are required if the Titans are going to accelerate this rebuild.
The big question ahead of Tuesday's deadline surrounds Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. He's easily the team's most recognizable (and expensive) player. Simmons began the season in lackluster fashion, but he's been considerably more productive in recent weeks, arguably playing his best game of the season against the Patriots on Sunday. Despite his price-tag, he's a two-time Pro Bowler that would surely attract interest on the market if the Titans were willing to move him.
Simmons' name has been floated in trade rumors for weeks. It would take an excellent offer for Carthon to consider trading his superstar defender. We've identified three potential landing spots if Carthon decides to trade Simmons.
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are surprisingly in contention for the NFC West division title. Trading for Simmons wouldn't be about pretending they can win the Super Bowl this season, though. General manager Monti Ossenfort was in a front-office role with the Titans when Simmons began developing into a superstar. There's an important sense of familiarity present.
Ossenfort's Cardinals have also struggled to apply consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Arizona has been searching for a face-of-the-franchise pass rusher since J.J. Watt retired. Head coach Jonathan Gannon is a defensive-minded leader that once oversaw a 70-sack season as the defensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. Gannon's Cardinals are nowhere near that productive, consistently placing in the bottom-half of pass-rushing metrics since his arrival. Simmons would give Ossenfort a defender he could build around.
Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers are currently enjoying success with a plethora of former Titans on the roster. That list includes Kristian Fulton, Teair Tart, Elijah Molden, Hassan Haskins, and Bud Dupree. Jim Harbaugh has these Chargers playing like stubborn playoff contenders.
Thinking about their future, Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack won't be around L.A. much longer. Harbaugh will soon need another defensive lineman to build his hard-nosed culture around, and Simmons has that type of personality. Furthermore, the Chargers are scheduled to possess more than $70 million in cap space next offseason, per Over The Cap, and they already have their franchise quarterback Justin Herbert under contract.
Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores has his unit firing on all cylinders. Flores' defensive line is consistently getting after quarterbacks, with players like Andrew Van Ginkel, Pat Jones II, and Jonathan Greenard moonlighting as effective pass rushers. Not much production is coming from the interior, however, and that's where Simmons can help.
The Vikings are buyers at the deadline, recently acquiring offensive tackle Cam Robinson from the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Vikings are slated to possess more than $63 million in effective cap space next summer. They'll have plenty to spend on veteran playmakers, especially if they're not planning to re-sign quarterback Sam Darnold.