John Simon, once the Silver Bulletts' industrious talisman, was drafted in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Simon only appeared in seven games his rookie season, and despite a two-year, $2.45 million rookie contract, was waived by the Ravens after the season.
In 2014, Simon was signed off the Ravens' practice squad by Bill O'Brien and the Houston Texas. He appeared in 11 games at outside linebacker, compiling 12 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Despite the modest statistical returns, the Texans' frontman appears to be a fan:
"John Simon really defines in many ways the type of player that we're looking for," O'Brien says of the OLB. #Texans
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) June 8, 2015
"He earns the right to be out there every day," O'Brien says of John Simon. #Texans
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) June 8, 2015
Bill O'Brien has been a fan of the big fella since Simon destroyed his Nittany Lions teams earlier this decade. Here's O'Brien in 2013, right after signing Simon:
“He’s tough,” head coach Bill O’Brien said. “He plays with a bad ankle. He’s a good teammate. He’s here all the time, working out, watching film, he’s instinctive. Those guys are coached very well by Mike (Vrabel). He coaches them hard. They respond to it. He’s one of those guys. I remember him, he killed us at Penn State my first year there. He had a great game. He’s a tough kid.”
You know you're a grinder when you're repeatedly earning praise for your work ethic and toughness in the NFL. It's good to see Simon — who spoke with us last week, by the way — get the props we all know his game deserves.
Simon is set to make $585,000 in the final year of his contract with the Texans. He keeps his axe to the grindstone the Texans will throw more hundreds of thousands of dollars at him in due time.
