NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A day after finding himself in the middle of not one, but two mid-practice fights, Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons found himself the center of attention once again Wednesday after practice.
The two-time All-Pro stepped up to the mic to take accountability for his part in the scrums that forced Brian Callahan to briefly pause practice, and for his tirade directed at local radio host Buck Reising.
You can watch our report on the original incident in the player above.
“That’s not me,” Simmons said. “It will never happen again. That’s not my character. And to all you guys I apologize. Everyone know I’m a leader on this team. I look at myself first because being a leader you have to point the finger at yourself first.”
Simmons says that the on-field skirmishes are just a part of training camp, and guys going at it down in and down out in the trenches, but he also says there’s a fine line before you go to far.
On Tuesday the Titans crossed that line, and it’s up to Simmons and the entire team to make sure it doesn’t happen again and they make sure they get through training camp in one piece.
“My job is to push them guys (and their job) is to push (us),” Simmons said. “We ain’t here to fight. It’s like when me and (J.C.) Latham got tangled up. It’s a football play. We’re competing. But all that extra stuff is just not called for, and we know that. As we know in the game if you hit someone in the facemask you’re out of the game, so you have to know when to draw the line. We’re teammates at the end of the day. We’re all here for one goal. To get each other better and get ready for September and win one game at a time.”
But Simmons took full responsibility for his walk-by shouting match with Reising during the radio host’s show on 104.5 The Zone on Tuesday. Simmons apparently took offense to something the host had posted on social media during practice, but says that he has to be able to turn off the switch and brush that stuff off.
“I talked to Buck,” Simmons said. “We have an understanding. I have an understanding where he’s coming from. He has an understanding where I’m coming from. He has a job. I have a job. But at the end of the day I take full accountability for my actions off the field. That will never happen again.”
For now Simmons just wants to put the incidents of Tuesday in the past and put his focus solely on football and helping the Titans make the most of every day of training camp.
