On Wednesday, an article from The Athletic revealed a quote from Tennessee Titans defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons in which he talked about contract conversations he had with the team this past offseason.
According to Dan Pompei of The Athletic, Simmons revealed that the Titans basically told him they didn’t know when they could pay him, and they may not be able to pay him what he thinks he’s worth because of their tight cap situation.
“It was, ‘We want you to be here, but we don’t know exactly when we’ll be able to pay you,’” Simmons said. “The Titans were like, ‘We don’t know if we’re going to be able to offer you what you think you are worth. We want to pay you, but we don’t know where it’s going to come from.’ That’s basically what it was, not an offer.”
Naturally, after the disastrous situation that occurred with A.J. Brown in the spring, this caused some within the fanbase to panic.
Thankfully, for the sanity of the fanbase, Simmons did his best to quiet the noise surrounding his quote by putting out a tweet shortly after practice, addressing the situation.
Listen, I love where I’m at! I love this organization and most of all, my teammates! I am not worried about a contract! I am focused on winning! Next story, PLEASE!!
— Jeffery Simmons (@GrindSimmons94) November 2, 2022
Truthfully, it’s a complete waste of time and emotions to get worked up about any contract negotiations in the middle of the season.
There will be a time to discuss all of this to a nauseating degree, but on a week when the Titans have to stop Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs’ explosive offense, it’s hardly the time to be focused on his future salary.
I’d also imagine that Simmons understands that important games such as the one on Sunday night are the types of contests that can earn him a lot more money than any negotiating tactic ever could.
Simmons is currently scheduled to see a dramatic increase in his pay next season since he will be on the fifth-year option. He‘s only making $2.2 million this year, with that total jumping to $10.7 million in 2023, per Spotrac.
Obviously, the star defender is rightfully seeking much more than that, but at the very least he knows he already has a sizeable pay raise coming in the near future.
The main priority at the moment for everyone should be figuring out a way to beat the No. 3-seeded Chiefs. The good news is, that’s exactly where Simmons’ focus is at.
