Titans DT Named AFC Defensive Player of the Month

To no surprise, the Tennessee Titans defensive tackle to be named AFC Defensive Player of the Month was Jeffery Simmons.

Simmons is the glue that holds this defense together and is a key piece as the team continues to rebuild with a new head coach on the way.

Keep in mind, this award also included the Titans game in January against the Jacksonville Jaguars. If anything, that makes it even more impressive as it spanned across five games instead of the usual four.

Ultimately, there's no player more deserving of this honor than Simmons. The 28-year-old doesn't plan on leaving anytime soon, and that's music to Titans fans ears.

Jeffery Simmons Wins Well-Deserved League Honor

Titans DT Jeffery Simmons, Saints DE Chase Young earn Defensive Player of the Month honorshttps://t.co/tuF1fZ6MMo pic.twitter.com/TAI1qtbGm9
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) January 8, 2026

In the five games that counted towards the award, Simmons recorded 27 quarterback pressures, 26 tackles, seven tackles for a loss, four and a half sacks, three passes defended and two forced fumbles.

If that wasn't impressive enough, Titans' reporter Jim Wyatt knew he had to mention Simmons one-yard touchdown reception that may go down as the play of the season for this team. When everything was going right, this team was extremely fun to watch.

Other than Week 18, Tennessee competed in all four of their December contests. Simmons was a huge part of that as the Titans defense held their ground, but obviously he can only do so much as one player. The upcoming draft is worth keeping an eye on as Tennessee could go one of two routes: wide receiver or defensive difference maker.

Simmons Stellar 2025 Season

Highest pressure rate among DT this season, per @NextGenStats:

1. Jeffery Simmons - 13.9%
2. Christian Barmore - 13.6%
3. Milton Williams - 12.4%@Patriots | #NEPats pic.twitter.com/av3t1n7VZa
— NFL Researcher (@NFL_Researcher) January 6, 2026

Simmons will go down as the first player since October 2022 to win a player of the month award. Even as special as Chimere Dike was on special teams, not even he was honored this season.

It's the 28th time a Titans player has been named player of the month but just so happened to be the first time Simmons has won it in his career. Thankfully for Titans fans, they'll have one more chance to see him take the field next month as he was named to his fourth Pro Bowl.

2025 will forever be a memorable season for Simmons as it was the first time he finished with double digit sacks. 11 sacks is a new career high for the former No. 19 overall pick as he finished with 67 total tackles in 15 games played. As long as this team has Simmons on defense, they'll be in good hands.

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