Titans’ Jon Robinson: Keeping Jeffery Simmons is a top priority

After having his best season as s pro in 2021, Tennessee Titans 2019 first-round pick and defensive lineman, Jeffery Simmons, is setting himself up for quite the pay day down the road.

The good news for the cash-strapped Titans is that they have until the 2024 offseason to figure things out, as the team is expected to pick up his fifth-year option by May 2, which keeps him under contract through 2023.

Titans general manager Jon Robinson stated the obvious recently, saying that keeping Simmons, who has become a cornerstone defender in Nashville and among the best at his position in the NFL, is a top priority for the team, according to Ben Arthur of The Tennessean:

“Jeff’s a good player,” Robinson said. “We want to keep as many good players as possible. He’s certainly in that top group of guys that we want to keep in Nashville.”

Robinson noted that while Simmons had some question marks upon being drafted by the team, he has become as good of a leader and teammate as he has a player, as evidenced by his being named a team captain in 2021.

“He was a player that drew maybe some criticism when we did draft him for a lot of reasons,” Robinson said. “He’s been a great teammate, been a great leader, been a great performer on the field. He’s a player we want to keep around here.”

Spotrac estimates Simmons’ market value at a four-year, $84.1 million contract, which comes in at $21 million annually. If he keeps playing at the level he did in 2021, he will, at the very least, approach that figure.