John Simon (linebacker)

John Simon (born October 14, 1990)[1] is an American former professional football linebacker. He played college football at Ohio State, and was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL draft. He also played for the Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, and Pittsburgh Steelers.

John Simon
refer to caption
Simon with the Baltimore Ravens in 2013
No. 94, 51, 55, 59, 38
Position:Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1990-10-14) October 14, 1990 (age 34)
Youngstown, Ohio, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:Cardinal Mooney
(Youngstown, Ohio)
College:Ohio State (2009–2012)
NFL draft:2013 / round: 4 / pick: 129
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:283
Sacks:21.0
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:1
Pass deflections:11
Interceptions:2
Defensive touchdowns:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Early life

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Simon was born in Youngstown, Ohio. He played high school football for the Mooney Cardinals of Cardinal Mooney High School in Youngstown, Ohio. Ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 36 defensive tackle in the class of 2009, Simon chose Ohio State over offers from Nebraska, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh.[2] He played in the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl.

College career

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Simon attended Ohio State University, and played for the Ohio State Buckeyes football team from 2009 to 2012. As a senior in 2012, he was named the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Year,[3] and received first-team All-Big Ten honors.[4] He was also named a third-team All-American selection by the Associated Press.[5] He finished his career with 154 tackles and 20.5 quarterback sacks.

Professional career

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Baltimore Ravens

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Simon was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the fourth round, with the 129th overall pick, of the 2013 NFL draft.[6] He signed a four-year, $2.545 million contract on May 21, 2013.[7] On August 30, 2014, Simon was waived by the Ravens and was signed to the practice squad the next day.[8][9]

Houston Texans

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On October 7, 2014, Simon was signed by the Houston Texans off the Ravens' practice squad.[10] On October 9, 2014, Simon recorded his first NFL sack against the Indianapolis Colts.[11] On March 16, 2016, Simon signed a restricted free agent tender with the Texans.

In Simon's third season, he recorded 53 tackles, 1 fumble recovery and 5 sacks.[12]

Indianapolis Colts

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On March 10, 2017, the Indianapolis Colts signed Simon to a three-year, $13.5 million contract.[13] He started nine games for the Colts in 2017 before being placed on injured reserve on December 5, 2017, with a shoulder injury.[14]

On September 1, 2018, Simon was released by the Colts.[15]

New England Patriots

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On September 26, 2018, Simon was signed by the New England Patriots.[16] Simon finished the 2018 season with 17 tackles (8 solo) and 2 sacks.[17] Simon helped the Patriots win Super Bowl LIII where they beat the Los Angeles Rams 13–3.[18]

On March 13, 2019, Simon signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots.[19] In week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, Simon recorded his first sack of the season in the 43–0 win.[20] In week 6 against the New York Giants, Simon recorded an interception off a pass from Daniel Jones that was tipped by teammate Stephon Gilmore in the 35–14 win.[21] In week 7 against the New York Jets, Simon recorded a strip sack on Sam Darnold which was recovered by teammate Kyle Van Noy in the 33–0 win.[22]

Tennessee Titans

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On July 25, 2021, Simon signed with the Tennessee Titans.[23] He was released on August 29, 2021.[24] He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 5.[25] He was promoted to the active roster on October 9.[26] He was released on November 6.[27] He re-signed with the Titans on November 23.[28] He was waived on December 6.[29]

Pittsburgh Steelers

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On December 13, 2021, Simon signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers practice squad.[30] He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 27, 2022.[31] He was released on May 16, 2022.[32]

NFL career statistics

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Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2013 BAL 7 0 4 4 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014 HOU 11 0 12 7 5 1.5 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2015 HOU 16 8 53 39 14 5.0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2016 HOU 11 5 51 32 19 3.5 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
2017 IND 9 9 43 28 15 3.0 7 1 26 1 26 1 0 0 0 0
2018 NWE 11 2 17 8 9 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019 NWE 16 12 44 28 16 4.0 3 1 6 0 6 4 1 0 0 0
2020 NWE 16 16 53 34 19 2.0 4 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0
2021 TEN 2 0 6 4 2 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
PIT 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
100 52 283 184 99 21.0 25 2 32 1 26 11 2 1 0 0

Playoffs

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Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds TD Lng PD FF FR Yds TD
2015 HOU 1 0 8 5 3 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2018 NWE 3 1 4 1 3 0.5 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
2019 NWE 1 1 5 4 1 0.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 2 17 10 7 0.5 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

References

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  1. ^ "John Simon player profile". sportingnews.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  2. ^ John Simon Rivals profile
  3. ^ Lesmerises, Doug (November 27, 2012). "Ohio State's John Simon wins Big Ten defensive award, Urban Meyer loses out on coaching award". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  4. ^ "2012 All-Big Ten Conference Football Teams". Big Ten Network. November 26, 2012. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  5. ^ "AP All-America team 2012: Johnny Manziel, Alabama lead the way". sportingnews.com. Associated Press. December 11, 2012. Archived from the original on May 20, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  6. ^ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Wilson, Aaron (May 21, 2013). "Ravens sign fourth-rounder John Simon to four-year, $2.545 million deal". BaltimoreSun.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  8. ^ Mink, Ryan (August 30, 2014). "Ravens Make Final Roster Cuts". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  9. ^ Mink, Ryan (August 31, 2014). "Ravens Sign Nine Players To Practice Squad". BaltimoreRavens.com. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  10. ^ "Texans add OLB John Simon". HoustonTexans.com. October 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2016.
  11. ^ "John Simon". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  12. ^ "John Simon". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  13. ^ Bowen, Kevin (March 10, 2017). "Colts Bolster Outside Linebacker Position With John Simon". Colts.com.
  14. ^ Walker, Andrew (December 5, 2017). "Colts Place Outside Linebacker John Simon On Injured Reserve". Colts.com.
  15. ^ Walker, Andrew (September 1, 2018). "Colts Announce Final 2018 Roster Cuts". Colts.com.
  16. ^ "Patriots Place RB Rex Burkhead and LB Ja'Whaun Bentley on Injured Reserve; Announce Additional Roster Moves". Patriots.com. September 26, 2018.
  17. ^ "John Simon Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  18. ^ Shpigel, Ben (February 4, 2019). "Patriots Win in Lowest-Scoring Super Bowl Ever". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  19. ^ Kyed, Doug (March 13, 2019). "NFL Rumors: Patriots Expected To Re-Sign Defensive End John Simon". NESN.com. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
  20. ^ "Newcomer Brown scores as Patriots beat Dolphins 43–0". ESPN. September 15, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  21. ^ "Patriots force 4 turnovers, beat Giants 35–14 to reach 6–0". ESPN. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  22. ^ "Patriots blitz Darnold, Jets 33–0 to remain undefeated". ESPN. October 20, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  23. ^ "Titans agree to terms with OLB John Simon, waive Tuzar Skipper". usatoday.com. July 25, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  24. ^ Wyatt, Jim (August 29, 2021). "Roster Moves: Titans Part Ways With Five Players While Placing One on Injured Reserve, Another on Reserve/COVID-19 List". TennesseeTitans.com.
  25. ^ Wyatt, Jim (October 5, 2021). "Titans Add Two to Practice Squad, Including Veteran OLB John Simon". TennesseeTitans.com.
  26. ^ Wyatt, Jim (October 9, 2021). "Titans Activate WR Marcus Johnson From Injured Reserve in a Flurry of Roster Moves". TennesseeTitans.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  27. ^ Wyatt, Jim (November 6, 2021). "Titans Make a Flurry of Roster Moves Ahead of Sunday's Game vs the Rams". TennesseeTitans.com.
  28. ^ Wyatt, Jim (November 23, 2021). "Titans Make 13 Roster Moves – On the Active Roster, Practice Squad and Injured Reserve – On a Busy Tuesday". TennesseeTitans.com. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  29. ^ Wyatt, Jim (December 6, 2021). "Titans Move WR Julio Jones, WR Racey McMath and S Dane Cruikshank to Designated for Return from Injured Reserve" List". TennesseeTitans.com.
  30. ^ "Steelers make multiple roster moves". Steelers.com. December 13, 2021. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  31. ^ "Simon signed to Reserve/Future contract". Steelers.com. January 27, 2022.
  32. ^ Varley, Teresa (May 16, 2022). "Steelers sign four players". Steelers.com.
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