Former Titans teammate recruiting Jeffery Simmons to join him in Buffalo

Jones played with Simmons in Tennessee from 2019-20. He compiled 91 tackles, three sacks, and a forced fumble while lining up next to Simmons along the Titans interior defensive line.

The 25-year-old Simmons is under contract with the Titans for $10.753 million in 2023 under his fifth-year option, and he’s made it no secret that he wants to lock down a long-term deal before the start of the season.

The problem, however, is Simmons told The Athletic in November that he questions whether the Titans have the funds to pay him what he’s worth.

“It was, ‘We want you to be here, but we don’t know exactly when we’ll be able to pay you,’” Simmons told The Athletic. “The Titans were like, ‘We don’t know if we’re going to be able to offer you what you think you are worth. We want to pay you, but we don’t know where it’s going to come from.’ That’s basically what it was, not an offer.”

Commanders defensive tackle Daron Payne agreed to a four-year, $90M contract with Washington on Sunday, and Simmons is presumably looking to top that and land somewhere in the neighborhood of Aaron Donald’s $95M deal.

If Simmons splits the difference between Donald and Payne, he’s likely looking at a salary north of $23M per season. It’s not known if the Titans would go that high; they balked at paying star receiver A.J. Brown the $20M per year he got from the Philadelphia Eagles.