New Bears defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said his nickname for Caleb Williams two years ago was nothing more than gamesmanship.
Simmons, then with the Titans, jokingly referred to Williams as “Painted Nails” in an NFL Network interview. He said Friday that he thought Bears fans were “going to crash my Instagram” after that.
Now, Simmons, Williams and Bears fans are on the same side after the trade from Tennessee.
“I’ve been a fan of Caleb,” Simmons said, via Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Of course, being on the other side and having to play against him, I’m not going to tell him that. I’m going to talk as much smack as I can.
“But now he’s on my team. Any teammate you ask about me, man, I have my teammate’s back, no matter if he’s on the other side of the ball or not. I’m going to talk the most smack to you when you’ve got a different color jersey on, but when we’re on the same team on Sundays, I go to war for any of my guys in the locker room. I hope Caleb would know that.”
Simmons said he and Williams talked after a joint practice in August and again on Friday morning before meetings. Williams doesn’t hold the comment against Simmons.
“The comments a couple years ago about the nails is all part of my game, with the smack talk,” Simmons said. “I don’t know if you guys have heard, but I’m probably one of the best smack talkers. I talk a lot of smack when I’m on the field. I’m looking forward to being his teammate. We all know what type of player he is.”