Elijah Simmons
Career Summary
Elijah Simmons is an interior defensive lineman from Memphis, Tennessee, who played at Tennessee before entering the NFL with Arizona and later joining Tampa Bay in 2025.
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Early Life
Elijah Well Simmons was born July 26, 2001, in Memphis. He moved to Nashville at age eight and is the son of Eric Simmons and Stephanie Halliburton.
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High School
Simmons attended Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville. He recorded 141 tackles and 13 tackles for loss, won 2018 Region 5-3A Defensive MVP, and helped Pearl-Cohn win a regional championship in each of his four high school seasons. He also won state titles in shot put and discus.
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College Career
Simmons played six seasons at Tennessee, appearing in 55 games with eight starts. He finished with 59 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and three pass breakups and graduated in December 2023.
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Path to the NFL
After the 2025 NFL Draft, Simmons agreed to terms with Arizona as an undrafted rookie free agent. He was later waived and re-signed to the Cardinals' practice squad before Tampa Bay signed him from that unit in September.
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NFL Career
Simmons began his NFL career in 2025 with Tampa Bay after arriving from Arizona's practice squad. He appeared in nine games, recorded six combined tackles, including one tackle for loss, and made his NFL debut in Week 3 against the Jets.
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Career Accomplishments
Simmons was a consensus three-star recruit and 2018 Region 5-3A Defensive MVP at Pearl-Cohn. His multi-sport accomplishments included two state shot-put championships and a state discus title.
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Playing Style
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 340 pounds at Tennessee, Simmons was an imposing interior defensive lineman with unusual athleticism for his size. Tennessee noted that he modeled his game after Aaron Donald and Geno Atkins.
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31092, 00-0040384, 2001-07-26, Elijah Simmons, Elijah, Simmons
MFT PLAYER RANKINGS
Current player ranking
MFT Score: 41.6
2026 preseason baseline. Position-relative and updated through the site’s weekly review process.