Teary eyed, Jeffery Simmons shares why signing Tennessee Titans extension is so meaningful

Jeffery Simmons paused to collect his emotions. Tears streaming down his face, the Tennessee Titans' star defensive tackle couldn't help crying just thinking about the single mother who raised him and the grandchildren he doesn't yet have.

"It's my kids’ kids. It’s generational wealth," Simmons said Wednesday, after officially signing his four-year, $94 million contract extension with the Titans. "It’s what I do it for, man. Every day I wake up and just think about those hard times where I know my mom didn’t feel like it. Sometimes I could be like ‘I’m hurt.’ But I think about my mom having to raise five kids on her own. For me to say I don’t want to do this? That’s my motivation. My family."

With his family in attendance, Simmons was sentimental during his news conference. He thanked his agent, Paul DeRousselle, and his uncle, Jason Hatcher, for their mentorship. He thanked his mother, his coaches, his teammates and Titans GM Ran Carthon.

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And he gave a special thank you to Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk for believing in him enough to draft him in 2019 given the doubt some organizations had about Simmons' character following a 2016 arrest and no-contest plea for assault against a female when he was in high school.

"From Day 1 I told Miss Amy that I would never let her down," Simmons said. "I texted Miss Amy after we came to the conclusion that we came to an agreement. I told her how much I appreciate her for trusting in me from Day 1. What she sent back to me, she told me that ‘You promised me that you would never let me down and you haven’t.’ That right there, it hit something inside. To have a female owner, a lady owner in the NFL, to trust in you so much. From kind of the adversity I went through throughout my journey to get here. It means so much to me.

By signing his extension, Simmons is the second-highest paid defensive tackle in the NFL behind Los Angeles Rams standout Aaron Donald. Simmons has been named second-team All-Pro each of the last two seasons and is a two-time Pro Bowler. The Titans selected Simmons in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, making him the first Titans first-round pick to make it to a second contract with the team since offensive tackle Taylor Lewan, who the Titans picked in 2011.

Simmons repeatedly described signing the contract as "special" and "unbelievable" for him and his family. Even if he didn't actually get to the one who shared the news with the people he loved most.

"I think when I told everyone I was in the group chat," Simmons said. "My brother broke the news to everyone in the group chat. I was waiting to do it. He ended up breaking the news. It was special. Just to be able to share that moment with the family, for them to be here today, is special. We were on the phone. It was me, my agent Paul and my uncle. It was a long talk, I will say, right before we made the decision. It was like ‘What are we going to do? Are we in or not?’ Man, it was unbelievable. I heard a couple tears on the phone."

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: Why Tennessee Titans' Jeffery Simmons cried after contract extension