Tennessee Titans defensive end Jeffery Simmons is giving back to his home state of Mississippi in more ways than one.
After hosting a free football camp in Starkville last week – a camp that not only saw youth get to learn from Simmons up close but also get to meet country music star Jelly Roll – Simmons made an appearance at the Jackson Medical Mall on Monday to help unveil a new tool to prevent overdose deaths in the area.
Simmons joined officials from the Fund Recovery, Mississippi Public Health Institute, REACH Impact Institute, and Padagis in cutting the ribbon on a naloxone vending machine at the mall, providing free and accessible opioid overdose medication to those in need.
Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose by binding to the same opioid receptors in the brain and blocking a drug’s effects. Working for a half hour up to an hour and a half, it can provide a life-saving bridge between the time of an overdose and a patient getting medical attention.
According to a press release from Fund Recovery, which has Simmons featured in its “Tackle Overdose Now” campaign, Simmons chose the Jackson Medical Mall to host the vending machine so “it could reach the greatest number of people.” Being the capital city, Jackson has a higher number of overdose cases than more rural areas in the state.
Mississippi, per data from the state’s prescription monitoring program, saw 146 suspected overdose deaths in 2024 – a sharp decrease from over 200 in 2023. Officials believe the distribution of naloxone, which has also been handed out on college campuses across the state, can be credited for the turnaround.
“When we look at the overdose and the drugs, it’s affecting not just the adults but our kids. I’m a big advocate that our kids are our future. That’s why I pour so much time into our youth,” Simmons told WLBT-TV. “So many kids throwing their lives away because of drugs, guns, whatever it may be. So, that’s the reason why I’m here today.”
The “Tackle Overdose Now” campaign was launched in December 2024 with the first two naloxone vending machines being installed in Fentress County, Tenn. In April, the campaign expanded into downtown Nashville and now with its first Mississippi vending machine, it’s expected to dispense over 70,000 doses this year.
Simmons, who attended Noxubee County High School before playing at Mississippi State, is heading into his seventh year with the Titans. He’s been named to three Pro Bowls and has twice been nominated for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, an award that’s given for off-field work in the community and named after the former Chicago Bears running back and Mississippi native.
