Sam Phalen speculates that the Tennessee Titans could be looking to trade Jeffery Simmons ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.
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00:00There is an NFL superstar in the league right now that I believe could be traded before the 2025
00:05NFL Draft, and nobody seems to be talking about it. For A to Z Sports, I'm Sam Phelan,
00:12here to break it all down. The Tennessee Titans have been at the center of a lot of the offseason
00:19talk thus far, with the number one overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NFL Draft and Cam Ward in
00:26their sights. Everybody seems to be looking at Tennessee, but one thing nobody is talking about
00:32that I think is still a very real possibility before the draft is a trade for defensive tackle
00:38Jeffrey Simmons. Now, if you would have told me that this was possible even just a few weeks ago,
00:43I would have thought you were out of your mind. The Titans have made it clear how much they value
00:47Simmons, how big of a piece he is in their defense. I don't get the impression that they are necessarily
00:53looking to trade him, but things can also move fast in the NFL, and let's face it,
00:59Simmons is now turning 28 years old this summer. The Titans just finished 3-14 and are at the front
01:07end of what should be a multi-year rebuild. They're optimistic about 2025 with Cam Ward at quarterback,
01:14but realistically not expecting to contend. Simmons may be a little bit restless. If he wanted out,
01:22nobody could blame him. And I'm not going to sit here and pretend to know whether or not Jeffrey
01:27Simmons is happy with his current situation, but players have certainly wanted out for far less.
01:33But this is not all just hearsay and speculation on my part. The Titans have really caught my
01:39attention with some of their pre-draft process, specifically in their top 30 visits. The Titans
01:45have hosted five different defensive tackles for top 30 visits in the pre-draft process.
01:50TJ Sanders, Darius Alexander, Vernon Broughton, Cameron Jackson, Omar Norman Lott. That is five
01:58defensive tackles and many of them coming in that day two area of the draft, probably with round two
02:04or round three grades. Now, top 30 visits are not nothing. They at least show to me a baseline of
02:10interest from a team in drafting a player. So what does that tell me? The Titans are looking at
02:16defensive tackles in the 2025 draft, which if you look at their current roster, doesn't make a ton
02:22of sense. They have Jeffrey Simmons. They have Tavondre Sweat. They re-signed Sebastian Joseph Day.
02:29DeAndre Coburn is under contract. They also have Draymond Jones, who has the ability to flex inside
02:34if you so need him to. Really, the Titans don't have any more snaps on the defensive interior for a rookie
02:41to come in and play, especially if you're talking at the tier of a second or third round pick.
02:48So why then are the Titans looking at these players? Well, if you ask me, Tennessee is doing due diligence
02:54just in case they get the right suitor and decide to pull the trigger on a Jeffrey Simmons trade leading
03:00up to or during the NFL draft. What are some of the things we know about new Titans general manager,
03:06Mike Borgonzi? He wants to get younger, get cheaper, and accrue as many draft picks as possible.
03:13So as good as Jeff Simmons might be, as much as the Titans might value him in their defense,
03:19he can help a contender now. And a lot of his friends have gone elsewhere in recent years.
03:26There's no more Harold Landry or Danico Autry or Kevin Byard. Jeffrey Simmons had a great relationship
03:32with Derrick Henry. Derrick Henry no longer with the Titans, and Mike Vrabel is gone. You could
03:37certainly see why he could be excited about leaving. And for Mike Borgonzi, you could get younger,
03:43you could get cheaper. And if you trade Simmons, that is one way to guarantee you bring back a top
03:49100 pick in the 2025 NFL draft. There could be a lot of value here for the Titans. So this is not on
03:57the radar of anybody. I don't see anybody talking about this, especially people in Nashville. But
04:03as the days loom and the draft gets closer, I start to feel like a trade for defensive tackle Jeffrey
04:11Simmons is more and more possible. Now the question is, do the Titans have the right fit
04:17and suitor on the other end? For A to Z Sports, I'm Sam Phelan.