Will Family Ties Split Up Simmons Titans

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12.10.2022 @ 03.20

NASHVILLE , one of the earliest (and best) of ESPNs 30 For 30 documentary series, tells the story of Marcus Dupree, a prodigious talent out of Philadelphia, Mi s. who among other things was at the center of one of the early 1980s most heated college football recruiting battles.At one point in the film, former Texas coach Fred Akers is asked: I dont know if you remember Uncle Curlee? in reference to Curlee Connors, Duprees uncle who became recognized as the central figure in his recruitment.Akers response? Theres always an uncle, isnt there?Forty years later, theyre not limited to college football. Just ask the Tenne see Titans.Scroll to ContinueJason Hatcher, uncle to Pro Bowl defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons and a former NFL player in his own right, suddenly is a prominent presence in an emerging offseason storyline for the two-time AFC South champions. A rare talent in his own right who also is from Mi si sippi Noxubee County, in this case Simmons currently is trying to sort out his NFL future. He pronounced during a pre s conference https://www.incoltsstore.com… Wednesday that Hatcher heads an advisory team that currently is guiding all matters related to his career, including the selection of an agent who will negotiate or has begun to negotiate (it was not clear) Simmons next contract.The 2019 first-round pick is still under the Titans control this season and next. However, Simmons inability or unwillingne s to take part in practices during this weeks mandatory minicamp (everyone agrees that he is not injured) suggests that he was reluctant to risk injury at this time, which means he expects a big payday in the not-too-distant future. Not that he was willing to say so.One of the guys that has been around my whole life is my uncle, Jason Hatcher, Simmons said. Hes kind of got a team around him as well that he built that we both met with. My focus is not on my contract. Thats why Ive got a team around me. They can focus on all the contract https://www.incoltsstore.com… talk and whatever it may be if it is contract talks. Someone Who Knows the GameTo be clear, Hatcher is not some Johnny-come-lately looking to cash in at a fortuitous moment. Simmons has referenced him often during his three years with the Titans, typically as someone who provided first-hand perspective on the i sues that an NFL player typically faces. Hatcher, after all, was a defensive lineman for 10 years, most of them as a member of the Dallas Cowboys.This is the first indication, though, that he is, or has been a prominent voice in all matters related to Simmons career.And while there is no reason to think he has anything but Simmons' best interests at heart, representing his busine s interests seems like a terrible idea. Common sense says that involving family members in any busine s decision sports or otherwise is fraught with hazards because they tend to take things personally. I sues like contract negotiations typically are best left to those who tend to such matters regularly who tend to remain dispa sionate and have a better sense of the big picture.Simmons declined to say who else is part of his advisory team or how many members it has. He did not specify whether any others or all of them were family members or what other connection he has to them. It is clear, though, that he values the opinion of that collective over anything his coaches or any other Titans personnel have to say.Im the player in this, Simmons said. Im playing right now. So, Im with whatever they think is best for me. Of course, theres nothing that theyre going to do without asking me. Theyre going to run everything by me, and thats what all busine s is about. This is my body, my busine s. Everything comes through me. Its not them telling me what to do or Im telling them what to do. Were a team, and thats why we work together.Still, when pre sed, he did not affirm that his absence from the practice field the last two days was or was not a modified holdout or that he was advised to stay on the sidelines by Hatcher or anyone else. His position coach, Terrell Williams, claimed, hes doing https://www.incoltsstore.com everything we have asked him to do, and head coach Mike Vrabel dismi sed the suggestion that Simmons made clear there were some things he simply would not do.I've never had an i sue with that, Vrabel said. I don't see that ever being an i sue. Time to Make a DealOfficially, Simmons is listed as his own agent with the NFL Players A sociation, but he did say that he and his team plan to hire someone (or that maybe they already have, again he refused to make that clear) to hammer out the details of a new deal https://www.incoltsstore.com… , one which presumably would net him a huge signing bonus and would increase the likelihood that Simmons spends his entire career with the Titans. An extension now could mean an immediate signing bonus of roughly $20 million and tie him to the franchise well beyond just this season and next. Aaron Donald recently got $25 million just for signing his three-year, $95 million deal with the L.A. Rams.But what if Hatcher wants Simmons to end up somewhere else? If he is the one now calling the shots, this week could mark the beginning of the end for Simmons and the Titans.In the aforementioned , it became known Uncle Curlee wanted Dupree to go to Southern Mi s. Instead, the unthinkably big and fast running back (think Derrick Henry well before Derrick Henry) went to Oklahoma where he spent just two years. He then transferred briefly to Southern Mi s but never played a down there before he went on to a brief and unspectacular profe sional career that included stints in the USFL and NFL, far short of the expectations everyone Uncle Curlee included had for him.This is an era of pro athlete empowerment led by NBA players who increasingly have forced teams to move them to their preferred destination. In the NFL, cornerback Jalen Ramsey muscled his way out of Jacksonville and won a championship last season as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. https://www.incoltsstore.com… Others have made similar moves.The Titans have been on both sides of it recently. They added Zach Cunningham off waivers late last season when the linebacker who led the league in tackles a year earlier did everything he could to get the Houston Texans to cut him loose. They also traded wide receiver A.J. Brown several weeks ago when it became clear that he did not want to seriously negotiate a long-term deal.For his part, Simmons expre ses a bli sful ignorance about his contract status even though he said he is aware of everything Hatcher and his team are doing and thinking.When its time to talk contract, I dont want to be a part of it, Simmons said. Thats why Ive got a team around me to handle that. The team that I have, I know that they want the best for me.Someone decided the best thing for him this week was not to be on the prac