When it comes to Tennessee Titans players due for contract extensions, the biggest of the group is no doubt defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, who will play on the fifth-year option in 2023 before hitting free agency in 2024.
The expectation has been that the Titans would get something done well before it gets to that point, but the team’s tight salary cap situation might prevent that, and quite possibly a long-term extension altogether.
And that’s exactly what the Titans have told Simmons, who revealed to The Athletic’s Dan Pompei the conversation he had with the team about an extension this past offseason.
Simmons says the Titans told him they don’t know when they can pay him, and they may not be able to pay him what he thinks he’s worth, which is likely to be around the $31.6 million per year Aaron Donald is getting.
“It was, ‘We want you to be here, but we don’t know exactly when we’ll be able to pay you,’” Simmons said of the conversation with the Titans. “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.”
The truth is, Simmons deserves to be the highest-paid defensive linemen in the NFL, as he has emerged as one of the best at his position in the last few years, no matter how under-the-radar he has been nationally.
Not only that, but Simmons is the heart and soul of this defense, as not only does he make plays upfront, but his sheer presence along the defensive line opens things up for everyone else.
But Tennessee’s salary cap situation is a mess, with the Titans having just $2 million in cap space now, which likely hindered their ability to make a trade, and they are set to be over the cap in 2023, per Over the Cap.
It looks like the Titans may need Simmons to take a hometown discount if the cap fully impedes them, but the star defensive lineman is unlikely to do that, as teams will be lining up to pay him what he wants.
We always figured the Titans would find a way to make it work, but we are far less confident now.
