Armed with a record-breaking contract and a relentless mindset, Tennessee's star defensive tackle prepares to dominate a new scheme and cement his status as the league's most elite.
The Tennessee Titans just made defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons the highest-paid defensive tackle in the NFL this past weekend.
His new contract ensures that he will be with the franchise until 2031 and sets the team up for success. His extension is for three years and $105.9 million, with $100 million of it guaranteed.
There aren't a lot of players in the NFL capable of doing what Simmons does year in and year out. He led all defensive tackles in sacks and tackles for loss last season.
As a whole, he accounted for 67 total tackles, 11 sacks and 17 TFLs.
Like everyone on the team, Simmons is learning a new system. The Titans are switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defense. In Robert Saleh's scheme, defensive tackles are asked to be versatile on the defensive line.
Simmons is expected to reach new heights with Saleh. Former NFL Scout Brentley Weissman believes Simmons could post even better stats than last season with Saleh.
The four-time Pro Bowler shared his mindset heading into 2026 and how he ensures he continues to raise his level of play. Per Titans Insider Jim Wyatt, Simmons is well aware of how special a player he is.
"Each and every day I wake up, it's: 'How can I separate myself from everyone else? How can I be the best version of myself? How can I be better than yesterday?'," Simmons said at last week's minicamp. "I kind of have that mindset that I am not everyone else, I am a different breed."
The next big thing for Simmons and the Titans is training camp now that the team has gone through rookie minicamp, OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
There are plenty of new faces on the defensive line as we head into the next part of the offseason. Simmons now has help from John Franklin-Myers, Jermaine Johnson, Jordan Elliott, and Keldric Faulk, to name a few.
The Titans just added another player to the mix, with former Washington Commanders defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes. If there's one thing we know about how Saleh wants to use the defensive line, it's that many players will be rotating in and out constantly, so the more players available, the better.
Simmons just became a First-Team All-Pro for the first time in his career, and the sky is the limit for what he can do in Saleh's system.
We may not have even seen the best version of Simmons yet.
