Titans’ Jeffery Simmons Ejected from Practice
The Tennessee Titans’ coaching staff made a bold move on Tuesday, ejecting star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from practice after he threw a punch during a skirmish with right tackle JC Latham.
The incident occurred early in team drills, when the offensive and defensive lines converged in a post-play tussle. Simmons and center Austin Schlottmann were initially involved in the tangle, before the former took a swing at Latham in the middle of a scrum, according to ESPN.
Assistant defensive line coach Tanzel Smart stepped in and pulled Simmons out of the fight, before coach Robert Saleh stopped practice and gathered the players for a talk to cool them down.
Saleh made it clear that Simmons’ actions would not be tolerated, stating, ‘Our policy is if you throw a punch, you’re ejected in the game. Same thing with practice, if you throw a punch out at practice.’
However, instead of sending Simmons to the locker room, Saleh allowed him to continue working on a side field with a strength coach. ‘He still got his work in,’ Saleh explained. ‘So the projected reps and the work that he would have gotten in, he got in off to the side.’
This is not the first time Simmons and Latham have clashed in training camp. The two were at the center of a fight in 2024 on the first day of full-pad practice, and while then-coach Brian Callahan said the team would not accept fighting at practice, he did not eject Simmons.
Saleh acknowledged that the two players’ competitive drive is a double-edged sword. ‘Our O-line and D-lines, we want them playing with an edge,’ he said. ‘We want them to toe the line. We just gotta learn how to draw the penalty, not give the penalty.’
Simmons is the face of a new-look defensive front, which Saleh reconstructed ahead of his first year as the Titans’ coach. The highly renowned tenacity Simmons brings to both the pass rush and run-stopping scheme on the interior defensive line spilled over into extracurricular activity at practice.
Saleh praised Simmons’ competitive drive, saying, ‘We want them to toe the line of violence. We’re always going to toe the line of being aggressive. Call it instigating if you want; it’s just the nature of who we’re going to be.’
However, Saleh also emphasized the importance of discipline in maintaining that edge. ‘We’ve gotta be disciplined enough to make sure that we always find our way back to the huddle without giving the other team freebies,’ he said.
Saleh’s approach to the situation was seen as a bold move by many, but it also reflects the high standards he has set for his team. As the Titans look to make a deep run in the playoffs, they will need to balance their competitive drive with the need for discipline and teamwork.
