Titans DL Calls Out Bears QB

The Tennessee Titans are looking forward to Week 1 against the Chicago Bears.

Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (98) celebrates sacking Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young during the third quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. / Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA

The Tennessee Titans are a little less than three months away from their season opener against the Chicago Bears, but they are already counting down the days from when they will play on an NFL field again.

This year's Week 1 matchup is extra special since the Titans will face the Chicago Bears, who held the No. 1 pick in this year's NFL Draft to take USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

The Titans will be the first team to welcome Williams to the league, and defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons is already beginning the trash talk.

"Painted nails. I can't wait to say that to him," Simmons said on The Rich Eisen Show. "Most definitely. Oh, it's gonna be one of them games. ... They've got us coming to Chicago. All the hype's gonna be around them of course. I think when special, even prime-time games … everybody just counts Tennessee out, which we all know. A game like Chicago, I'm sure (they're) thinking we 'bout to get beat bad. That also make me even talk more smack and boost me up a little more, get into a different mode, as well. I'll be in a different mode that game."

But the trash talk doesn't stem from a dislike or jealousy of Williams. It comes out of respect.

"You've got a first-round pick like Caleb Williams, which is a great player," Simmons said. "Watching a couple games when he was at USC, he's a hell of a player. But it's a different league, and I'm excited to play him the first game."

The first game of the season is important to set the tone for the season, and the Titans are looking to do just that against Williams and the Bears. If Tennessee can pick up a win on the road to begin the season, it will put the team in a good stride going into the rest of the year.

They play two games at home against the New York Jets and Green Bay Packers after that, and if Tennessee can parlay these games into an undefeated start to the season, it will give the team a chance to compete in higher-intensity games later down the line.

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