As the Tennessee Titans prepare to explore the free-agent market this week, the team still has unfinished business with defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, who is up for a contract extension.
Simmons still has the fifth-year option to play out in 2023, but he has made it clear he’d prefer to get something done before having to do so.
All seemed to be going well between Simmons and the Titans in their talks after he publicly praised general manager Ran Carthon and expressed that he was “very confident” a deal would get done.
But things took a nerve-wracking turn recently when Big Jeff removed any mention of the Titans from his Instagram page. While it can’t be confirmed, it would appear the two sides are not going in a great direction at the moment.
Meanwhile, fellow defensive lineman Daron Payne, who was franchise-tagged, received a four-year, $90 million extension from the Washington Commanders, which works out to $22.5 million per.
The deal includes a whopping $60 million guaranteed and now makes him the second-highest paid player at his position right now and in NFL history, surpassing Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman DeForest Buckner, but still falling behind Los Angeles Rams superstar, Aaron Donald.
We now have a measuring stick for what Big Jeff could receive.
Payne has been in the league one year longer, but he and Simmons’ stats are very similar, with the exception of a double-digit sack campaign for the former.
Comparing stats of #Titans' Simmons and Commanders' Payne, who signed a 4-yr, $90 mil deal ($60 mil gtd.):
Yrs Games Tackles Sacks TFL
Payne 5 81 291 28 40
Simmons 4 56 189 21 28— John Glennon (@glennonsports) March 12, 2023
Payne’s extension is the first in what could be a long line of them for some of the best interior defenders in the NFL. The longer the Titans wait, the higher the price will go up, as the ones proceeding Payne’s could reset the market behind Donald once again.
When it’s all said and done, it isn’t crazy to think Simmons could fetch upwards of $25 million per year, but I wouldn’t expect him to get any less than what Payne just received.
