NASHVILLE – The Titans are bringing back a familiar face to the team's practice squad in veteran edge rusher John Simon.
An eight-year veteran who has spent time with the Patriots, Colts, Texans and Ravens in his NFL career, Simon signed with the Titans back in July, and he went through training camp with team.
Simon was released when the team trimmed its roster to 53 players in August.
The Titans also added veteran defensive lineman Caraun Reid to the team's practice squad on Tuesday.
Reid (6-2, 292) has played in 54 games in his NFL career, spending time with the Lions, Chargers, Colts, Cowboys, Cardinals and Jaguars. He's tallied 50 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns. Reid, drafted by the Lions in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, played in seven games with the Jaguars in 2020.
Simon arrives at a time when the team is short on depth at outside linebacker because of injuries to Bud Dupree and Derick Roberson. Last week, the Titans signed outside linebacker Sharif Finch to the practice squad before promoting him to the active roster later in the week.
A fourth-round pick of the Ravens in the 2013 NFL Draft, Simon spent the past three seasons with the Patriots, where he played in 47 games, with 30 starts, from 2018-2020.
Simon recorded 46 tackles and two sacks for the Patriots in 2020, when he played in 16 games, with two starts. Simon played 702 of a possible 1,017 defensive snaps (69%) for the Patriots last season. In the last three years with the Patriots, he tallied 30 starts, eight sacks, and nine tackles for a loss.
Simon has worked under Titans head coach Mike Vrabel in the past, first in college at Ohio State, and later in the NFL when they were together with the Texans.
In his NFL career, Simon has played in 97 career games, with 52 starts. He's recorded 277 career tackles, and 21 career sacks, 25 tackles for a loss, and two forced fumbles, along with 11 passes defensed and two interceptions.
After playing in 2013 for the Ravens, Simon played three seasons with the Texans (2014-2016) before joining the Colts for one season (2017). He then signed with the Patriots, and he was part of a Super Bowl-winning team in 2018.
Simon (6-2, 260) played in 50 career games with 37 starts at Ohio State, totaling 154 tackles, 20.5 sacks and 10 passes defensed. Simon was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in 2012 following his senior season, and he became just the eighth player in school history to be named a two-time captain.
