Years Of Calls, Zero Offers
According to Nick Suss of The Tennessean, rival teams have contacted the Titans about Simmons roughly once or twice a year across multiple seasons.
Per Suss, multiple sources familiar with the conversations said talks never even reach the offer stage. Tennessee has reportedly been so firm that suitors aren't given the chance to name their price, and that pattern has repeated itself year after year.
I’d said it this offseason, but Jeffery Simmons has truly paid the Titans back times infinity for believing in him.
— TicTacTitans (@TicTacTitans) September 9, 2026
Elite player, elite man.
I think Big Jeff has maximized his potential. Couldn’t have become better. https://t.co/b7EVAd5h0x
It's a big revelation given how quiet Simmons has stayed in the rumor mill compared to teammates like A.J. Brown, who was traded away in 2022.
The difference here is that the interest was never public, and Tennessee made sure it stayed that way by shutting teams down before any conversation could start.
Teams Keep Trying
The interest makes plenty of sense.
Simmons is coming off a career year, posting 11 sacks, 60 quarterback pressures and 17 tackles for loss in 2025 en route to first-team All-Pro honors. He led all NFL defensive tackles in sacks that season.
Turning 29 in July, with two years left on his contract, Jeffery Simmons now becomes the first defensive tackle to land $100 million guaranteed.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 19, 2026
Here are the highest-paid DTs in the NFL on a per-year basis:
🏈Jeffery Simmons: $35.3M
🏈Chris Jones: $31.75M
🏈Dexter Lawrence:… pic.twitter.com/FxyyoO5S1J
Tennessee's response was to double down rather than cash in.
The Titans signed Simmons to a three-year, $105.8 million extension in June that includes $100 million guaranteed and runs through 2030, making him the highest-paid defensive tackle in league history.
General manager Mike Borgonzi called him "the premier defensive tackle in the National Football League" and said Simmons embodies what it means to be a Titan.
