NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for the Tennessee Titans.
A frustrating 24-16 loss to the Baltimore Ravens pushed the Titans (2-4) to the bottom of the division, causing team captain Jeffery Simmons to suggest his teammates do some soul-searching.
“We need to figure out the guys that want to be out there,” the defensive tackle said. “We need to reevaluate our team and figure out who wants to play football for the Titans.”
The pain shows on Simmons’ face after every loss.
It’s from the competitive spirit he developed from going against his older brother, Dylan Bradley, whose NFL aspirations were cut short due to injuries. They competed in everything from tackling drills to video games and more.
“He used to be so competitive,” Simmons said. “I used to be mad at him. We used to fight each other every time he beat me.”
During position meetings, Titans defensive line coach Terrell Williams pulls up clips of Simmons hustling to the football even when the play isn’t near him as an example of how he wants the other players to compete.
“There’s nothing better than showing guys that are at [Simmons’] status and still play hard,” Williams said. “Not every Pro Bowler is running to the ball the way he is. If Jeff Simmons can run to the ball, the rest of the guys better get going, too.”
Simmons and Bradley are only two years apart, so Simmons had to wait his turn to start playing when he was watching his big brother play at 5. The two used to practice tackling by putting their pads on so they could hit each other and by hitting a tree in their backyard.
“Tough” is how Simmons described it.
Bradley said he knew his little brother was built different when he had tightrope ankle surgery during his senior year in high school. The procedure normally has a four-to-six-week recovery time, but Simmons came back to play two weeks later.
As the oldest of five siblings (three sisters and Simmons), Bradley had to be “the man of the house.” He quickly saw football as a way that he could make things better.
“Football gave me the opportunity to change my life and my family’s life,” Bradley said. “So, I had to put all my energy into football.”
Simmons took on the same belief from a young age. Growing up they always talked about being able to make things better for the family.
That’s why Simmons was emotional during his press conference after he signed a four-year, $94 million contract extension, making Simmons the second-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL — behind only the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald. Simmons came a long way from when he had to share the bed with his brother.
“Every day I wake up and think about those hard times and how my mother didn’t feel like it,” Simmons said as he fought through tears. “Sometimes, I’ll be like ‘I’m hurt’ and think about my mom. My family, that’s my motivation.”
Their uncle, Jason Hatcher, played defensive line for the Dallas Cowboys. Having played the same position, Simmons and Bradley wanted to follow in their uncle’s footsteps.
Simmons remembers going to his uncle’s house in Dallas and seeing the things that football provided.
“It was like me being around that made me love the game more because I know my uncle also came from a small town [in Louisiana],” Simmons said. “That motivated me, just knowing that I could do the same thing.”
Meeting his uncle’s teammate, Hall of Famer Demarcus Ware, was a huge moment for Bradley to push for the NFL.
Simmons was a freshman on the football team at Noxubee County High School in Mississippi when Bradley was starring on the team as a senior.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State recruited Bradley in high school, but he chose to play at Southern Miss from 2013 to 2016.
Bradley signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2017, but he was waived during the final roster cuts and re-signed to the practice squad. He had a good chance to make the roster in 2018, but an ankle and knee injury ended his dreams.
As for Simmons, he would also become a standout for Noxubee County before suiting up for Mississippi State, where he’d go on to be an All-American from 2016 to 2018.
Although it wasn’t career-ending, Simmons had a devastating injury in February 2019 before the scouting combine. He thought he just hyperextended his knee, but Hatcher, who served as a pre-draft mentor, had to break the news he got from Simmons’ trainer, Tony Villani of XPE Sports, that the injury was actually a torn ACL, according to Simmons.
Simmons told ESPN he called Bradley in tears and told him he considered going back to Mississippi State. Before the injury, Simmons was projected to be a top-10 pick.
But Bradley promised things would work out.
“You’re the best defensive tackle in the draft,” Bradley said. “You’ll get picked in the first round.”
The injury gave the brothers the opportunity to lean on one another as the draft approached and spend some time together.
Simmons almost joined the Vikings like his brother, as Minnesota considered taking him at No. 18. but they took center Garrett Bradbury instead.
The Titans gave Simmons the call of his life when they were on the clock at No. 19. The two brothers, who were wearing matching outfits, embraced as soon as Simmons got off the phone. They were on their way to Nashville.
Bradley worked for a framing company when he first got to the city. He got into training when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, first by helping his sister lose a significant amount of weight through workouts they did in Simmons’ garage.
Bradley got the certification to be a trainer soon after that, which led to an offer to work at a sports training facility called D1 that opened in Spring Hill, Tennessee — where he is now the head strength and conditioning coach.
Simmons approached Bradley last winter about being his trainer after he decided to stay in Nashville to train during the offseason. Bradley was honored to train his younger brother along with former Titans’ and current Buffalo Bills defensive lineman DaQuan Jones.
“I could tell training is his passion,” Simmons said. “This past offseason, I’m like, ‘I’m going to give you a chance.’ He did a hell of a job with that, helped me get stronger as well.”
He was coming off a season where he had to push through an ankle injury for most of it. Simmons told ESPN he had to get shots in the ankle over the last eight weeks just to be able to play.
The emotions came spilling out after a loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 18, which made the Titans miss the playoffs, when Simmons was asked about playing through his injuries.
That loss also marked the first time that Simmons would miss the playoffs.
“As his older brother, I was like, ‘Don’t let them see you cry,'” Bradley said. “But that’s him allowing himself to be vulnerable and showing his passion. If everyone on a given team had that much passion about football that team wouldn’t lose.”
With Simmons’ passion comes belief. In himself and his team, and though the Titans haven’t gotten off to the start they would have wanted, Simmons believes things can turn around.
“We have a long season ahead,” Simmons said. “We have a bye week, and hopefully guys get healthy, hit that reset button and come back ready to roll.”
Their next shot to start to turn the season around comes Week 8 when they host the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 29 (1 p.m. ET, CBS).