BuccaneersFan.com • Player Spotlight • Tampa Bay No. 92
Current official roster portrait: Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Defensive line • Second NFL season
Built for the middle
Elijah Well Simmons
- Born
- July 26, 2001 • Age 25
- Hometown
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Listed size
- 6 feet 1 inch • 335 pounds
- High school
- Pearl-Cohn High School • Nashville, Tennessee
- College
- Tennessee • 2019–2024
- NFL entry
- 2025 • Undrafted free agent • Arizona Cardinals
- Buccaneers career
- 2025–present
- Jersey
- No. 92
- Current status
- Active roster • As of November 3, 2026
Birthdate: 2026 Buccaneers media guide. Background: Tennessee player biography. Current listing: official Buccaneers profile and current roster.
Milestone sources: Tennessee background, degree announcement and the original football records below.
Elijah Simmons brought a long Tennessee apprenticeship to Tampa Bay’s defensive front. His college coaches saw power and short-area quickness in the interior lineman, while continuing to push him toward greater consistency. Simmons spoke about accepting that coaching and competing each day. Those habits became part of the preparation for an NFL opportunity that arrived without a draft selection. Tennessee’s account of his development; his first NFL opportunity.
Memphis • Nashville • Knoxville • Tampa Bay
The Tennessee road to Tampa Bay
Growing into the position Tennessee, 2019–2024.
Simmons spent six seasons with the Volunteers. The Tennessee career background. In 2023, defensive line coach Rodney Garner described a player with considerable strength and quickness who was still working to make his performance consistent. Simmons emphasized listening to his coaches and approaching each day as another chance to improve. The preseason development report.
Becoming a veteran voice The final college season, 2024.
By his final spring in Knoxville, Simmons was discussing another responsibility: helping younger defensive linemen. He described explaining the playbook, sharing what he had learned and helping the group move forward together. He also spoke about the unit’s relationship with Garner and the progress built through their time working together. His account of mentoring younger Volunteers.
An undrafted opportunity Arizona, 2025.
Simmons entered the NFL with Arizona as an undrafted rookie. In a Cardinals interview, he described his focus on competing for a place and learning from experienced players. Veteran defensive lineman Calais Campbell noticed his attentive approach. Arizona’s rookie feature. After the preseason, Simmons joined the Cardinals’ practice squad on August 27. The original practice-squad announcement.
A place with the Buccaneers Signed September 17, 2025.
Tampa Bay signed Simmons from Arizona’s practice squad on September 17, 2025, adding him to its defensive line as Calijah Kancey went on injured reserve. The move brought a new team and an opportunity on the Buccaneers’ active roster. Tampa Bay’s signing announcement.
Recognition along the way
Strength across several sports Pearl-Cohn High School.
Simmons earned 2018 Region 5-3A Defensive MVP recognition in football. His official background. His track record includes 2018 state titles in shot put and discus, followed by another shot-put title in 2019, all in Tennessee’s Small Class competition. TSSAA’s championship history.
A Tennessee graduate Communication studies, December 2023.
Simmons earned his undergraduate degree in communication studies in December 2023. Tennessee’s academic announcement identifies him among the football players who completed degrees that fall. It gave his years in Knoxville a lasting achievement beyond the field. The university’s graduation announcement.
September 28, 2025 • Philadelphia at Tampa Bay
A first NFL tackle for loss
Second NFL appearance • Raymond James Stadium
−2
YARDS • STOPPING SAQUON BARKLEY
Fourth quarter • 7:48 remaining
Tampa Bay 25 • Philadelphia 31.
In his second NFL appearance, Simmons made his first tackle for loss against one of the league’s prominent running backs. With 7:48 left in the fourth quarter, he stopped Saquon Barkley for a two-yard loss on first down, pushing Philadelphia from its 20-yard line back to the 18. The original gamebook, PDF p. 16.
The Buccaneers lost 31–25, but the play was an early contribution from their newest interior defender. Tampa Bay’s recap also records the stop during its fourth-quarter account. The team’s postgame report.
Tampa Bay • 2025–present
Tampa Bay in 2026
Simmons is in his second NFL season and remains on Tampa Bay’s Active roster as No. 92 as of November 3, 2026. The current Buccaneers roster. The Week 9 depth chart lists him in the nose-tackle group with Vita Vea and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, placing his work in the middle of the defensive front. The November 3 depth chart.
His participation record below includes both active playing weeks and inactive weeks. It also retains the less conspicuous appearances in which he took defensive snaps without recording a tackle.
The person behind No. 92
Beyond the stat sheet
Elijah Well Simmons was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to Nashville at eight. He attended Pearl-Cohn High School and played running back in middle school before becoming a defensive lineman. Basketball and track and field were also part of his school sports background. Tennessee’s personal biography.
A voice beyond the huddle Choir, harmony and a rookie performance.
Simmons grew up singing in choir and belonged to the Fab Five, a high-school a cappella group. Tennessee also records his fondness for Boyz II Men. His musical background. The interest followed him into the NFL: Arizona’s 2025 training-camp report confirms that he sang at the Cardinals’ rookie show. The official camp account.
A draft-stage memory Nashville, 2019.
Years before entering the league, Simmons appeared on the 2019 NFL Draft stage in Nashville as a local high-school guest. He later recalled discovering that J.J. Watt had noticed him and posted about his size. The Cardinals revisited that memory when Simmons became an NFL rookie himself in 2025. His recollection of that introduction.
NFL regular season • Career through 2026
The NFL career record
These regular-season records cover 2025–2026. The asterisk marks the incomplete 2026 season, through November 1, Week 8. Preseason and practice-squad membership do not add regular-season appearances.
| Season | Club | G | GS | DEF Solo | DEF Ast | DEF TKL | ST TKL | Sacks | Sack YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | TB | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 2026* | TB | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| NFL career | Tampa Bay | 15 | 0 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
G = games played; GS = starts; DEF = defense; ST = special teams. DEF Solo + DEF Ast = DEF TKL. Special-teams tackles are separate. Sack YDS records credited yards lost. All regular-season appearances shown here came with Tampa Bay.
Sources: 2026 Buccaneers guide, original 2025 phase and impact table on PDF p. 213 and the eight original 2026 gamebooks below.
| Season | Club | TFL | QB hits | PD | INT | FF | Opp FR | Own FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | TB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2026* | TB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NFL career | Tampa Bay | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
TFL = tackles for loss, including sacks; QB hits = credited hits on the passer; PD = passes defensed, including interceptions; INT = interceptions; FF = forced fumbles; Opp FR and Own FR distinguish opposing-team and own-team fumble recoveries. These categories describe different contributions and are not added into one total.
NFL postseason
Simmons has no NFL postseason appearance through November 1, 2026. His regular-season record and the current participation table exclude preseason games. Tampa Bay’s 2025 season outcome.
September 13–November 1, 2026
Six appearances through Week 8
| Week | Date | Opponent | TB result | Role | G | GS | DEF Solo | DEF Ast | DEF TKL | ST TKL | Sacks | TFL | DEF snaps | ST snaps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sep 13 | @CIN | L 27–33 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Sep 20 | CLE | L 19–23 | Inactive | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3 | Sep 27 | MIN | L 16–23 | Reserve | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
| 4 | Oct 4 | GB | L 14–17 | Reserve | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 5 | Oct 8 | @DAL | W 24–16 | Reserve | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 6 | Oct 18 | PIT | L 19–26 OT | Reserve | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| 7 | Oct 25 | @CAR | W 43–13 | Reserve | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 18 | 1 |
| 8 | Nov 1 | ATL | W 16–0 | Reserve | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 2026 total | Through Nov 1 | Tampa Bay | — | 6 appearances | 6 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 71 | 3 |
Simmons was inactive in Weeks 1 and 2, then appeared as a reserve in Weeks 3–8. Inactive rows have zero games and dashes for individual statistics. Played games with no tackle remain actual appearances.
The gamebooks’ unofficial playtime reports total 71 defensive snaps and three special-teams snaps. The Dallas tackle on a play erased by an accepted penalty is excluded from the final credits. The final defensive tables govern the tackle totals.
Results are from Tampa Bay’s perspective; @ = away; OT = overtime. CIN = Cincinnati; CLE = Cleveland; MIN = Minnesota; GB = Green Bay; DAL = Dallas; PIT = Pittsburgh; CAR = Carolina; ATL = Atlanta.
Original final gamebooks: Week 1 · Week 2 · Week 3 · Week 4 · Week 5 · Week 6 · Week 7 · Week 8.
Tennessee • 2019–2024
The Tennessee record
Simmons spent 2019–2024 at Tennessee. His 2019 redshirt season includes three actual appearances with no tackle credited. All six seasons remain in the record. These are NCAA Division I FBS statistics.
| Season | G | GS | Solo | Ast | TKL | TFL | TFL YDS | Sacks | Sack YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 1.5 | 2 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 1.0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 9 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 3.0 | 9 | 0.5 | 4 |
| 2024 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 1.5 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Tennessee career | 55 | 8 | 22 | 37 | 59 | 7.0 | 19 | 0.5 | 4 |
G = games played; GS = starts; Solo + Ast = TKL. TFL = tackles for loss, including sacks; TFL YDS and Sack YDS are credited yards lost. Half-tackles and shared sacks are retained. Actual postseason contributions are included in these annual totals.
Original final-season records: 2019 final record, PDF p. 7 · 2020 final record, PDF p. 7 · 2021 final record, PDF p. 11 · 2022 final record, PDF p. 12 · 2023 final record, PDF p. 10 · 2024 final record, PDF p. 10.
| Season | QB hurries | PBU | INT | PD | FF | FR | BLK | SFTY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tennessee career | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
PBU = passes broken up; INT = interceptions; PD = PBU + INT. FF = forced fumbles; FR = fumble recoveries; BLK = blocked kicks; SFTY = safeties. College QB hurries and NFL QB hits are different categories.
The six original annual records reconcile to 59 tackles, 7.0 TFL, half a sack and three pass breakups. They also credit one quarterback hurry, recorded in 2021.
College postseason appearances
| Season | Date | Game | Opponent | UT result | G | GS | Solo | Ast | TKL | TFL | TFL YDS | Sacks | Sack YDS | PBU | QB hurries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Dec 30, 2022 | Orange Bowl | Clemson | W 31–14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | Jan 1, 2024 | Citrus Bowl | Iowa | W 35–0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Dec 21, 2024 | College Football Playoff First Round | Ohio State | L 17–42 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Postseason subset | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.5 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
These are actual player appearances, not a list of every Tennessee bowl during his enrollment. Each row is a subset already included in its season; it is not added again to the career total. Results are from Tennessee’s perspective. January bowl dates belong to the preceding season.
Original gamebooks: 2022 Orange Bowl · 2023 Citrus Bowl · 2024 College Football Playoff First Round.
The Orange Bowl and Ohio State playoff game were actual appearances with no credited defensive counting statistic. In the 2023-season Citrus Bowl, Simmons recorded two assisted tackles, including half a sack and half a TFL for four yards. All three postseason appearances were as a reserve.
The 2019-season Gator Bowl participation report and 2021 Music City Bowl participation report establish that he did not appear in those games. Tennessee also withdrew from the planned 2020 Liberty Bowl. None adds a player appearance.
The six final annual reports credit no individual rushing, receiving, passing, punt-return or kickoff-return production. Defensive FF/FR are not personal offensive fumbles; the latter total is not asserted from these reports.
Sources & statistical notes
The records behind the spotlight
- Identity and background: current Buccaneers profile, 2026 media guide and Tennessee biography.
- College development and achievements: 2023 development report, 2024 mentoring interview, TSSAA title records and graduation announcement.
- NFL path and personality: Arizona rookie feature, rookie-show report, practice-squad announcement, Tampa Bay signing and current depth chart.
- NFL statistics: The original 2025 phase/impact table in Tampa Bay’s 2026 media guide and eight final 2026 gamebooks. Availability is distinguished from participation; zero-tackle appearances remain in the record. Snap counts are labeled unofficial.
- College statistics: Six Tennessee final annual reports and original postseason gamebooks. The 2019 redshirt appearances are retained, and postseason is already included annually. Starting status and actual participation are checked against the original reports.
- Portrait: the current official Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster image.
Updated November 3, 2026. NFL regular-season statistics stop after November 1, Week 8; preseason is excluded. NFL postseason is separate from regular-season totals. College postseason appearances are subsets already included in Tennessee’s annual and career totals. Defensive and special-teams tackles are separated in the NFL records. College QB hurries and NFL QB hits are distinct statistical categories.