The Eagles are about to hand a rookie or a first-time starter a nasty welcome to the NFL, and Jeffery Simmons is the guy standing in the way.
On Sunday in Nashville, Philadelphia will have to deal with the Titans’ star defensive tackle, a player Fred Johnson has known since college and one who has only gotten more dangerous with time. Johnson ran into Simmons back in 2018, when Simmons was an All-SEC noseguard at Mississippi State and Johnson was starting at guard for Florida. The Gators won that game, 13-6, but Johnson came away remembering exactly how tough Simmons was to handle.
“He’s strong as s***,” Johnson told PennLive on Wednesday. “That’s basically what it is.
What you see now is basically what he was back then, just way better. He’s explosive.
He knows the game. Now, he’s a savvy vet.”
That’s the kind of problem the Eagles are walking into after losing Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson to injured reserve. Either Drew Kendall or Willie Lampkin is set to make his first career NFL start on the interior, and that means a brutal opening assignment.
Simmons is not just another disruptive lineman. He was a first-team All-Pro last season, a second-team All-Pro in both 2022 and 2023, and before Jalen Carter got paid, the 29-year-old was the highest-paid defensive tackle in the league. Tennessee pays him more than $35 million per year for a reason.
The Titans don’t have much else to brag about after last week’s 23-10 loss to the New York Jets, when they managed only 195 total yards. But Simmons gives them a real path to making things uncomfortable for Jalen Hurts and the Eagles.
“He’s very strong. Very physical at the point of attack.
Plays with a lot of intensity and effort. Really good with his hands.
Quick. He kind of does everything well,” Eagles starting guard Tyler Steen told PennLive.
“It’s not like you can do anything that will play into your hands. You’ve just got to trust your technique, trust your training.
Really good player.”
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Eagles Already Have A Backfield Question Behind Saquon Barkley
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