Jeffery Simmons reflects on Damar Hamlin, his cousin's recent death on football field
Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons couldn't help but let his mind wander.
Like most of the football world, Simmons spent Monday night watching the coverage of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin's injury and hospitalization after suffering cardiac arrest on the field. Shortly after the incident, Simmons reached out to his uncle, former NFL defensive end Jason Hatcher.
Hatcher's son J.J. died on a football field on Dec. 18 at 15 years old. Simmons said he doesn't know all the details of his cousin's death, but he thinks it happened during a 7-on-7 tournament. No cause of death has been publicly announced but Simmons said it was related to a heart condition.
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Watching Hamlin receive CPR on the field and hearing about him going into cardiac arrest stirred something in the Titans Pro Bowler.
"We just can't take this game for granted," Simmons said. "We never know. We just get sidetracked sometimes of the real reason why we play this game and sometimes we can forget that. We're playing for each other, we're playing for our family and most of all we're playing for ourselves because that's all we've been doing our whole life. I'm sure (Hamlin), this is all he knew his whole life. You never know when your last snap may be. It's just one of the things you can't take for granted. I'm praying for him and his family."
Simmons was in Los Angeles on the Sunday morning of the Titans' game against the L.A. Chargers when he got the call from his uncle about his cousin's death. Simmons played that afternoon with a heavy heart, making seven tackles with a sack.
After seeing Hamlin's injury, Simmons reached back out to Hatcher on Monday night and then spoke to him again Tuesday morning.
"It's just one of those things where the first thing, first person I thought about was my uncle," Simmons said. "We literally just put his son in the ground two weeks. That's the first thing I thought about, what if? Prayers to his family and hope he can pull through all this."
Simmons and the Titans (7-9) visit the Jacksonville Jaguars (8-8) on Saturday (7:15 p.m., ABC/ESPN) needing a victory to win the AFC South and secure a playoff spot. Simmons said recent events haven't shaken his will to keep playing in the slightest and he feels as healthy as he has felt in weeks heading into the matchup.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on Twitter @nicksuss.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Jeffery Simmons on Damar Hamlin injury, his cousin's recent death
