Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports

Titans’ Jeffery Simmons receives incredible career honor

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Sam Phalen | Last updated 12/5/23

It was announced by the team on Tuesday morning that defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons would be the Tennessee Titans’ nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

The Walter Payton Man of the Year award is an annual tradition to recognize NFL players who have been committed to philanthropy and impacting the community away from football. All 32 NFL teams select one nominee to represent them.

Last season, running back Derrick Henry received the honor of being the Titans’ representative.

"When you think about Jeff, he could use his accolades to his advantage. He could could use all of those things," said Martrell Harris of Big Brother Big Sisters of Tennessee in a video released by the Titans. "He has never once come to us and said 'I want to do this become I’m a big athlete.' He comes and says 'I want to do it because it’s important, because it’s valuable, because someone did it for me and I want to do it for others.'"

The Titans are proud to recognize Jeffery Simmons as our 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee for his outstanding work in the community #WPMOY @Nationwide | @GrindSimmons94 pic.twitter.com/LbFj4BmBEg
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) December 5, 2023

"Being nominated for this award, it means the world to me and I know it means the world to my family," said Simmons. "They know I’m such a giving person. I care about other things and people sometimes more than myself, so it just means the world to me."

Simmons' growth since joining the Titans organization has been fun to watch. He has delivered on the promise he made to Amy Adams Strunk every step of the way. Not only has Simmons been a superstar on the field, he has become an exceptional leader for his teammates and prominent figure in the Nashville community.

As recently as Thanksgiving, Simmons was using his time to stand outside Nissan Stadium and hand out turkeys to those in need.

Big Jeff is the kind of guy you always want around, and it's not hard to see why Tennessee just gave him a $94 million contract extension this past offseason.

The Jeffery Simmons that speaks to the media in the locker room every week does not shy away from difficult questions, handles himself like a professional, and appears to be beloved by his teammates.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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