There’s more than two months until the start of the regular season, but Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is already thinking about Week One.
Part of Simmons’s impatience to get to the game comes from the fact that he was sidelined for the final weeks of the 2023 campaign and part comes from who will be on the other side of the field. Simmons and the Titans will be in Chicago to face a Bears team that expects to be starting quarterback Caleb Williams in his NFL debut.
During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, Simmons acknowledged that “all the hype’s gonna be around” the team with the first overall pick in the draft and that he thinks “everybody just counts” the Titans out in games like that. Simmons said that he understands that view, but such circumstances “make me get into a different mode” and he’s looking forward to getting there on September 8.
“I get it,” Simmons said. “You’ve got a first-round pick like Caleb Williams, which is a great player. Watching a couple games when he was at USC and he’s a hell of a player, but it’s a different league and I’m excited to play him the first game.”
Eisen mentioned Caitlin Clark’s transition to the WNBA and how players from other teams have relished a chance to show her how tough life as a pro can be and Simmons said he has a similar mindset when it comes to welcoming Williams to the NFL.