A Year Later, Simmons' Knee Injury Already a Distant Memory

NASHVILLE – It was Jeffery Simmons’ Apollo 13 moment.

Exactly one year ago today he informed Houston, every other NFL team and anyone else who cared that he had a problem. It was in a tweet that one of the top prospects in the 2019 NFL Draft informed the world that he had sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee days earlier during training and promised “to come back stronger and more determined than ever.”

Based on his unusually quick recovery and some of the things he did for the Tennessee Titans in 2019, the injury and the questions it created already seem like a distant memory. By the time the next season arrives, though, Simmons wants to be free of any and all reminders that it ever happened.

“Next year, my goal is to not play with a brace,” Simmons said a day after the Titans’ loss in the AFC Championship. “I don’t want to play with a brace. I don’t want to think about my knee at all. The main thing this offseason is going to be to rest and build that confidence for next year.”

pic.twitter.com/0NAzPv0bvY
— Jeffery Simmons (@GrindSimmons94) February 12, 2019

Based on the way things went last year, there is little – if any – reason for doubt.

The knee injury and subsequent surgery a little more than a week later caused the 6-foot-4, 305-pound defensive lineman to drop in the draft. Widely viewed as a top 10 overall prospect, the Titans got him with the 19th overall selection and said they were willing to wait -- if necessary -- until 2020 to see him in a game.

By mid-October he was healthy enough to make his NFL debut. He made six tackles, had a sack and was a factor in a game-saving goal-line stand in his first game, a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers. Ultimately, he appeared in nine of the final 10 games (seven starts) and made 40 tackles with two sacks. In three playoff games, he added four tackles and a sack.

Tennessee went 9-3, including the playoffs, with him in the lineup.

“As the season went on my knee was feeling better,” Simmons said. “So, I’m out there flying around, trying to make plays, help this team. … I felt good. My knee felt good. My mindset was I want to win every game, whatever it takes.”

He did all of that without the benefit of practice time during the offseason and training camp. Because of the knee, he spent that critical portion of the NFL calendar on the physically unable to perform list and was limited to rehab.

Next season Simmons’ play will be propped up by a full workload throughout the spring and summer.

“This offseason is going to be real huge for me because I, for sure, have a lot of work to do and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

And he can’t wait to see what a difference it makes.

“The brace, I don’t think it slowed me down,” he said. “[But] I’m telling you, next year I think I’m going to have a great year. That’s what I’m planning on. That’s my mindset. That’s my goal.”