Nobody knows what actually constitutes as roughing the passer in the NFL anymore, and you can count Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons among those who are so perplexed.
During a very routine, unavoidable quarterback hit on Pittsburgh Steelers’ Kenny Pickett on Thursday Night Football, Simmons got inexplicably flagged for roughing the passer.
The Titans defensive tackle gave a genuinely shocked face, which is very understandable. He seemed to make as responsible a hit on a quarterback as you could make, with his tackle form exactly what you want to help limit any possible injuries during hits like this.
Coupled with a bizarre roughing call on Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt that his brother J.J. Watt openly questioned on social media, we’re not really sure why these flags have been thrown for very normal defensive plays.
The latest roughing the passer penalty is against the Titans after taking down Steelers QB Kenny Pickett.
Jeffery Simmons could not believe the call. 🏈🦓👮♂️ https://t.co/boBjNO4X4M pic.twitter.com/fYK0HeK8Az
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) November 3, 2023
Simmons has every right to be frustrated about that call, as it just didn’t at all look like anything but a normal attempt to sack the quarterback.
You always want to make sure roughing the passer is called when a defensive player makes an improper hit, but this from Simmons was textbook. We didn’t agree with this call at all, and neither did Simmons.
