NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- It was evident when the Tennessee Titans awarded Jeffery Simmons this offseason with a contract extension that made him highest-paid interior defensive lineman ever just how much he means to the organization.
Coming off a season in which he had a career-high 11 sacks and earned his first All-Pro honor, Simmons signed a three-year, $105.8 million deal that will pay him $35.27 million annually. And now he'll line up for new coach Robert Saleh's attacking scheme that appears to fit his skill set like a glove.
Saleh uses a rotation along the front four that keeps linemen fresher and better suited to give 100% on every rep, and he is well aware of Simmons' past snap counts -- which hovered around 81% since 2020.
But change is coming.
"The whole point of the rotation is to make sure that Jeffrey Simmons is ready for that one-on-one when we need it," Saleh said during minicamp. "Third down, two minute, make sure he's fresh, ready to roll and ready to exert every last fiber in his body and winning that one-on-one. So that's really the purpose behind it."
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi worked with Saleh to add some familiar faces to boost the rotation along the defensive front. First, they traded defensive tackle T'Vondre Sweat to the New York Jets for defensive end Jermaine Johnson II to improve the outside pass rush. Then veteran free agents John Franklin-Myers, Solomon Thomas, Jordan Elliott and Jacob Martin were added to the mix. The first-round selection of Keldric Faulk (No. 31 pick) completed the makeover.
As of minicamp, Saleh said he had yet to have the snap-count conversation with Simmons. And, Saleh said he doesn't see a world in which Simmons is above the rotation.
"If he's able to go to 50 plays out of 60, he's not doing it right," Saleh said.
Simmons smiled when asked about the pending conversation. The eighth-year veteran maintained the meal plan from last offseason that allowed him to cut down body fat, while adding muscle and explosiveness.
Simmons said he's pushing to be in the best shape of his life so he can show Saleh he's capable of handling a higher-volume workload.
"I want to have that mindset of, 'Nah, coach, I could go for more,' or whatever it may be," Simmons said during minicamp. "With the way I train, the way I try to get my body ready, I want to show him that maybe I could go six plays instead of the four that they're talking about."
Together, Simmons and the staff formulated a plan that would allow him to participate in practice after having a cleanup procedure on his right elbow in February -- he can now straighten his right arm, something he was unable to do over the past two seasons.
The plan allowed Simmons to do individual work on a hitting sled, among other things, with assistant director of sports performance Brian Bell. Simmons did conditioning work on a side field while the Titans were in their team period, but that didn't keep him from having a veteran impact on some of the younger players.
"Just coming to the sideline and getting his perspective on things he's seen that I could do better as far as when the O-lineman jump set me and I got a good get off," Faulk said. "He told me I got to be able to plant that foot in the ground and come back inside on him. It's things like that where I couldn't see myself on the field that he sees."
Defensive line coach Aaron Whitecotton also leaned in on what he has seen with Simmons.
"He sets the tone for the defense," Whitecotton said. "He's a leader on and off the field. His work ethic and the way he approaches it are infectious."
In this upcoming season, Simmons will have the opportunity to make more plays in the backfield rather than having to play at the line of scrimmage "two-gapping" (holding on to a double-team). The excitement was evident when he was talking about playing in a scheme that allows him to get up field and attack.
Whitecotton made the change clear when he scolded Simmons for sitting at the line of scrimmage and holding his ground against a double-team rather than penetrating the backfield during a practice rep.
The defensive staff is dedicated to creating more matchups for Simmons to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. That should bode well for Simmons, whose 16.3% pass rush win rate was tops among all interior linemen last season. If things go as planned, Simmons' ascension to defensive player of the year contender should receive a boost.
Having played at the second level of the defense last year, veteran linebacker Cody Barton had a front-row seat for Simmons' dominant season. Barton says he believes that under Saleh, it will be even better.
"It's going to be huge," Barton said. "That dude, Jeff, is one of the best to do it. He's just going to be causing havoc every play with them letting him go versus two-gapping, and he's just going to go."