Titans Sign First-Round DT Jeffery Simmons
The Titans have signed first-round defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, the club announced today.
Simmons was widely viewed as one of the best players in the 2019 class, but a number of issues forced him to fall until midway through the first round. First and foremost, the Mississippi State product was arrested for assaulting a woman during his senior year of high school (Simmons claims he was attempting to stop said woman from striking his sister). Second, Simmons tore his ACL in February, meaning he won’t be able to play for the Titans until late in 2019 or potentially 2020.
Once he is medically cleared, Simmons will join a Titans defensive line that boasts a start in Jurrell Casey but could still use a reinforcement. Casey led the Titans’ defensive line by ranking 14th in Pro Football Focus‘ positional grades, but no other Tennessee interior defender finished inside the top-45. As a unit, the Titans front four ranked just 22nd in adjusted sack rate and 28th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders.
As is standard for every first-round pick, Simmons will sign a four-year deal with a fifth-year option for the 2022 season. Per Over the Cap, Simmons’ four-year pact should have a value of roughly $12.664MM. He’ll collect a signing bonus of $7.23MM and will count for $2.303MM on Tennessee’s 2019 salary cap.
The Titans now have only two draft choices who remain unsigned: second-round receiver A.J. Brown and third-round guard Nate Davis.
Titans Entered Claim For Jets' Leggett
On Tuesday, the Buccaneers beat out four other teams to land former Jets tight end Jordan Leggett off waivers. We now know the identities of those other four clubs, thanks to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter): the Bills, Packers, Steelers and Titans all placed claims on the 2017 fifth-round pick, but the Bucs won out due to their higher waiver priority.
Titans Make Staff Changes
- The Titans also made some staff changes, Paul Kuharsky tweets. Brandon Taylor moved from national scout to pro scout, Mike Boni was elevated from college scout to national scout, and Casey Callahan moved from pro scout to college scout. He also notes that scouting coordinator Tosi Kazeem no long appears to be with the franchise.
Titans Not Interested In Ndamukong Suh
Although the Titans met with Ndamukong Suh when he was a free agent at this time a year ago, they’re not expected to consider signing the defensive tackle this offseason, according to Paul Kuharsky of PaulKuharsky.com.
Tennessee has added both Jeffery Simmons (first-round draft choice) and Brent Urban (free agent) to its defensive line in recent weeks, but Simmons may not play at all during his rookie campaign while recovering from a torn ACL, and Urban isn’t exactly a game-changing player. Defensive tackle Jurrell Casey led the Titans’ defensive line by ranking 14th in Pro Football Focus‘ positional grades, but no other Tennessee interior defender finished inside the top-45. As a unit, the Titans front four ranked just 22nd in adjusted sack rate and 28th in adjusted line yards, per Football Outsiders.
Suh, entering his age-32 campaign, appeared in all 16 games for the Rams a season ago after inking a one-year, $14MM pact with the Rams. He posted 4.5 sacks and 48 pressures during the regular season, and ramped up his production once Los Angeles began its postseason run, managing 1.5 more sacks and nine additional pressures in the Rams’ three playoff games. Suh is always available, as the only two games he’s missed in his nine-year career were the result of suspension, not injury.
Reports have indicated Suh’s asking price could be an issue, as Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com noted earlier this year that Suh has never played on a contact averaging less than $10MM per season. While that may be the case, the Titans currently have more than $30MM in available cap space, so they could afford Suh if they so chose.
Earlier this evening, PFR ranked Suh as the best available defensive free agent remaining on the board.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/16/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: G R.J. Prince
- Waived: G Kofi Amichia, TE Nick Keizer
Chicago Bears
- Signed: OL Tommy Doles
- Waived/Injured: DB Jomon Dotson
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: D’Ernest Johnson
- Waived: RB L.J. Scott
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: S Adarius Pickett
Los Angeles Rams
- Waived: WR Justin Sumpter
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: C Tony Adams, G Kyle Fuller
- Waived: C Kirk Barron
- Waived/Injured: G Isaac Asiata
New England Patriots
- Waived: DT Frank Herron
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: CB Alex Brown
- Waived: DL Damontre Moore
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: WR Bryant Mitchell
- Waived: LS Dan Godsil
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Jalen Tolliver
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/15/19
oday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived: LB Ejuan Price
Carolina Panthers
- Claimed off waivers: TE Temarrick Hemingway
- Signed: TE Ethan Wolf
Detroit Lions
- Waived: WR Brandon Reilly
Green Bay Packers
- Waived: WR Matt Eaton
Kansas City Chiefs
- Claimed off waivers: G Zack Golditch
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: DB Jake Gervase, WR Jalen Greene, LB Ketner Kupp, DT Bryant Jones
Miami Dolphins
- Waived/injured: C Connor Hilliard, S Rob Rolle
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: S Cameron Glenn
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: WR Joe Parker
Washington Redskins
- Waived: TE Elkanah Dillon
NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/15/19
Today’s draft pick signings:
- The Titans have agreed to terms with fourth-round safety Amani Hooker, the club announced. Hooker was projected to come off the board much earlier than Round 4, leading Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus to label his selection as one of the steals of the draft. The 2019 Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, Hooker was also named first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American. Additionally, Hooker posted elite athletic testing and is a versatile scheme fit, per Lance Zierlein of NFL.com, making his draft day fall all the more confusing. The Iowa product is likely to play in three-safety looks alongside fellow Tennessee defensive backs Kevin Byard and Kenny Vaccaro, and could be viewed as the long-term starter opposite Byard.
- Sixth-round linebacker Deshaun Davis has signed his rookie deal with the Bengals, Cincinnati announced today. Davis posted 112 tackles (15 for loss) during his final season at Auburn, but tested as a very poor athlete at the combine, per Kent Lee Platte of SB Nation (Twitter link). He’ll have to shine on special teams duty in order to land a roster spot in Cincinnati. Davis is the sixth Bengals draft choice under contract, but the club still has its top four picks unsigned: offensive tackle Jonah Williams, tight end Drew Sample, linebacker Germaine Pratt, and quarterback Ryan Finley.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/19
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Houston Texans
- Released: LB Dexter Wright
New York Giants
- Waived/Injured: DB Jacob Thieneman
- Waived: K Joey Slye
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: G Johnny Gibson
- Waived: WR Dorren Miller
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: WR Devin Ross
Andy Levitre Retires From NFL
This is the end of the line for former Falcons guard Andy Levitre. On Tuesday, Levitre announced his retirement via social media: 
“Unfortunately, due to injury my body won’t allow me to continue any longer,” Levitre wrote. “Thank you to my wife and children, my family, friends, coaches, teammates and all of the fans who supported me on this journey.”
Levitre came to the Falcons via trade in 2015 and started every game of his first two seasons in Atlanta. Unfortunately, injuries began to slow him down in 2017. In the last two years, Levitre tore both of triceps and was limited to just two games in 2018.
This wasn’t an easy decision for the veteran – in March, Levitre indicated that he would not retire. But, on the eve of his 33rd birthday, Levitre has decided to hang ’em up.
Before joining the Falcons, the former second-round pick spent time with the Bills and Titans. He leaves the sport after playing in 143 games (all starts) over the course of ten seasons.
More Minor NFL Transactions: 5/13/19
Here’s the latest round of minor moves from around the NFL (for this morning’s minor moves, click here):
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: TE Thomas Duarte
Detroit Lions
- Signed: LB Juwon Young
- Released: LB Tre’ Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers: DB Mike Tyson (from Texans)
New England Patriots
- Released: WR Xavier Ubosi, OL Calvin Anderson
New York Giants
- Signed: DL Freedom Akinmoladun
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: QB Devlin Hodges, DT Greg Gilmore, WR Johnny Holton, DE Henry Mondeaux, OL Damian Prince, LB Tuzar Skipper
- Released: LB Keion Adams, DE Jay Hayes, DT Chris Nelson, OL R.J. Prince, QB Brogan Roback, WR Ka’Raun White
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: FB Michael Burton, DL Geneo Grissom, OL Marcus Henry, OL Ulrick John, LB Colton Jumper, RB A.J. Ouellette, CB David Simmons Jr., WR Micah Wright
- Released: RB Darnell Holland, DT Tomasi Laulile, CB Darius Williams
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: QB Taryn Christion, TE Mik’Quan Deane
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: DB Kareem Orr, WR Joe Parker, DB D’Andre Payne, DB LaDarius Riley
- Waived: DB Jonathan Crawford, DB Taj-Amir Torres, WR Isaac Zito
- Waived-injured: DB Hamp Cheevers
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DE Jonathan Bonner, G Jerald Foster, DB Deion Harris, DL Austin Maloata, RB Craig Reynolds
- Waived: RB Russell Hansbrough, DB Joshua Holsey, OT Roubbens Joseph