Jeffery Simmons opens up about mental health as he sets an example for his Tennessee Titans teammates

The NFL has long been considered a sport of toughness, grit, and manly men fighting physically with all their might. But the truth is that the game of football is much more than a physical battle. It's a mental one too. And it can take quite the mental toll on those who play. In many cases some of the best players in the game struggle with mental health and emotions on a daily basis. Some have fought through mental health issues for much of their lives.

Jeffery Simmons, an All-Pro defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans, decided to share some of his back story this week and talk through his journey in dealing with mental health and handling his emotions as an NFL player. It can be easy to forget that 300-pound NFL athletes are anywhere near "normal" humans sometimes, but Simmons does a great job reminding us all that it's important to take care of our mental health and share our emotions.

Jeffery Simmons unafraid to show emotion

Jeffery Simmons went on The Mental Game podcast this week with Brandon Saho and shared quite a bit of his story. From growing up with a single mom who struggled at times raising five kids, to taking steps towards being okay showing his emotions, Simmons shared quite a bit (which you can preview in the post below).

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"I'm very emotional. Everything I do, I try to do with passion, especially if I love it. Like the game of football, I love the game of football, so I do it with passion. My family, I love my family...It got to a point where, you know, I'm a man. And at the end of the day, I know who I am. So by me shedding tears, that don't make me not who I am. That doesn't put my self-esteem down, because it's okay [to show emotion]."

Titans fans already know this, but Jeffery Simmons is an emotional guy, on and off the field. Whether he's celebrating a sack, pumping up his teammates, or chopping it up on social media, Simmons is just an incredible personality. But many don't know his back story in that he struggled with mental health both at times as a kid and throughout his pre-draft process after tearing his ACL as he was training for the NFL Draft.

Simmons shared that if it weren't for the people around him after he tore his ACL he would have really struggled to get through it and make it in the NFL. He talked through breaking down crying at times, struggling mentally, leaning into those important to him like his uncle, and keeping his faith in God.

Eventually the Titans would go on to select him in the first round of the NFL Draft, he would fight through recovery from his injury, and go on to be one of the best defensive lineman in the NFL. But the journey to get him there, fighting through mental health struggles and emotions, that's what many fans and media members don't see.

"Especially being an athlete, we go through so much. And sometimes, because we are these big 300 pounders...we kind of just, especially growing up as a young black man, we're taught to hold it in. But I think for me, especially when I got older, when you realize, you know, sometimes you just can't fight it. You know, a lot of people are scared to show [their emotional] side, but like I said, I'm comfortable with myself to be able to let my emotion flow."

Related: Panic at the Stadium: How the NFL helps rookies fight against the mental health stigma

Simmons talked through struggling without a father as a kid, growing up in a small town where you'd see "fifth graders with guns [or drugs]", and how he wanted to make sure that once he got to the NFL he would make a difference for kids like him. And so he did exactly that. Simmons created the Give Em A Reason foundation to serve the community through youth empowerment and self-esteem building programs.

I'd encourage you to check out the full interview with Simmons here if you'd like to learn more about his story and be encouraged as he discusses mental health. But Simmons summed up his take on dealing with mental health best by simply saying this:

"I think for me, at the end of the day, just control the controlables. And whatever it may be on the mental side of it, you know, just let it loose. Don't hold it in."

Related: Tennessee Titans Rookie Scouting Notebook on potential breakouts and early impact players

Be looking for more Tennessee Titans coverage here at A to Z Sports all year long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

And if you want to watch some Jeffery Simmons highlights to be reminded just how dominant he can be for the Titans you can check out the video below!