John Simon (born October 14, 1990) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, and was selected by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in the fourth round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He also played for the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

, and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

Early life

Simon was born in

Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

. 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 Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, Notre Dame and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He played in the 2009

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

College career

Simon attended

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

, and played for the

Ohio State Buckeyes football The Ohio State Buckeyes football team competes as part of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, representing Ohio State University in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State has played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, since 1 ...

team from 2009 to 2012. As a senior in 2012, he was named the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Defensive Player of the Year, and received first-team All-Big Ten honors. He was also named a third-team All-American selection by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

. He finished his career with 154 tackles and 20.5

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackle (football move), tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the l ...

Professional career

Baltimore Ravens

Simon was selected by the

in the fourth round, with the 129th overall pick, of the

. He signed a four-year, $2.545 million contract on May 21, 2013. On August 30, 2014, Simon was waived by the Ravens and was signed to the practice squad the next day.

Houston Texans

On October 7, 2014, Simon was signed by the

off the Ravens' practice squad. On October 9, 2014, Simon recorded his first NFL sack against the

. 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.

Indianapolis Colts

On March 10, 2017, the

signed Simon to a three-year, $13.5 million contract. He started nine games for the Colts in 2017 before being placed on injured reserve on December 5, 2017, with a shoulder injury. On September 1, 2018, Simon was released by the Colts.

New England Patriots

On September 26, 2018, Simon was signed by the

. Simon finished the 2018 season with 17 tackles (8 solo) and 2 sacks. Simon helped the Patriots win

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

where they beat the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

13–3. On March 13, 2019, Simon signed a two-year contract extension with the Patriots. In week 2 against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

, Simon recorded his first sack of the season in the 43–0 win. In week 6 against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, Simon recorded an interception off a pass from Daniel Jones that was tipped by teammate Stephon Gilmore in the 35–14 win. In week 7 against the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

, Simon recorded a strip sack on

Sam Darnold Sam Richard Darnold (born June 5, 1997) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans football, USC Trojans, winn ...

which was recovered by teammate Kyle Van Noy in the 33–0 win.

Tennessee Titans

On July 25, 2021, Simon signed with the

. He was released on August 29, 2021. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 5. He was promoted to the active roster on October 9. He was released on November 6. He re-signed with the Titans on November 23. He was waived on December 6.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 13, 2021, Simon signed with the

practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Steelers on January 27, 2022. He was released on May 16, 2022.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

References

External links

Ohio State Buckeyes bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, John 1990 births Living people Players of American football from Youngstown, Ohio American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Ohio State Buckeyes football players Baltimore Ravens players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Indianapolis Colts players New England Patriots players Tennessee Titans players Pittsburgh Steelers players