“All this to lose to Trevor Lawrence again” - NFL fans troll Titans after Jeffery Simmons’ massive $94M contract extension

Jeffery Simmons got paid big-time money recently. The Tennessee Titans defensive tackle agreed to a four-year, $94 million contract extension. The deal includes a $24 million signing bonus and $66 million guaranteed money.

The total amount gives Simmons the second-largest contract among defensive tackles in league history. He is also second to three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald in terms of annual average value. However, he will play the 2023 season under Tennessee’s fifth-year option worth $10.753 million.

But while the former Mississippi State standout got richer, a fan commented on NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport’s tweet regarding the mega contract. Twitter user @PotatoCam69 said:

“All this to lose to Trevor Lawrence again.”

Despite that take, Jeffery Simmons has been a force in Tennessee’s interior defensive line. The first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft has recorded 16 sacks over the last two seasons. That’s an impressive number for a player who sometimes gets double-teamed by offensive linemen. Simmons also has 54 tackles each in the previous two seasons and 21 sacks in his NFL career.

These numbers earned him back-to-back Pro Bowl and Second Team All-Pro selections in 2021 and 2022. Notably, he hasn’t had any significant injuries over his first four NFL seasons. Simmons missed seven games in his rookie year as he was recovering from a torn ACL he suffered while training for the 2019 draft. He also missed two games in 2021 due to COVID-19 symptoms.

However, Trevor Lawrence and the Jacksonville Jaguars clinched the AFC South and a playoff berth with a 9-8 record. Meanwhile, the Titans stumbled to 7-10, including a Week 18 loss to Jacksonville. Winning that game would have given them the division title and the postseason stint. Furthermore, Jeffery Simmons made only one tackle in that critical matchup.

Jeffery Simmons isn’t the Titans’ biggest concern

Jeffery Simmons' contract extension will likely have huge implications for the impending contract extensions of other defensive tackles across the league. Quinnen Williams and Dexter Lawrence will certainly look at this deal when negotiating for their big-time deals. Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders gave Daron Payne a four-year, $90 million extension last month.

Yet, while Simmons is an essential player in Tennessee’s cause, they have more problems to solve on the other side of the ball. Joshua Dobbs served as the Titans’ quarterback in that Week 18 game because Ryan Tannehill was on injured reserve.

On a bigger scale, Titans general manager Ran Carthon has a huge decision to make at quarterback. Tannehill has one year left on his four-year, $118 million extension, and the current market gives him the leverage to negotiate for more money.

However, the jury is still out on Malik Willis as to whether he will be a capable successor behind center. However, he is still on his rookie contract and will count for only $1,172,750 against the 2023 cap. Willis started in three of the eight games played last season, finishing with 399 total yards and one rushing touchdown.

The Titans must decide on star RB Derrick Henry’s future as well. He is also in the last year of his four-year, $50 million extension, and he showed recently that he is back in top form. The 2020 Offensive Player of the Year finished with 1,538 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns last season.

There were reports after the 2023 Scouting Combine that the Titans were entertaining trade offers for Henry. However, Carthon reportedly tagged the report as “erroneous.”