Jeffery Simmons of the Titans had a sad moment when he came out of the tunnel without Derrick Henry

Cameras captured Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in a sobering moment before his team’s final preseason game on Sunday.

Simmons was exiting the tunnel before the Titans’ preseason game against the New Orleans Saints when he stopped and appeared to shake his own hand. It was Simmons’ first time taking the field without running back Derrick Henry.

Simmons told passersby: “This is the first time I’ve run out of the tunnel without (Henry), man. Damn.”

Simmons and Henry spent five seasons together in Tennessee, dominating their respective positions. Simmons, a first-round pick of the Titans in 2019, came to Tennessee three years after Henry, but it seems the two have built a long-standing friendship that included some banter in the tunnel at least every week.

Henry reacted to the video of Simmons’ sad moment, writing on X (formerly known as Twitter): “I know you will persevere like you always do.”

Henry, who is currently in his fourth Pro Bowl season with the Titans, signed a two-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent in March. The 30-year-old running back rushed for 1,167 yards and 12 touchdowns last year, breaking the 1,000-yard mark for the fifth time in his eight-year tenure in Tennessee.

Henry and Simmons will not face each other in the regular season, but could see each other on opposite sides of the field in the AFC playoffs in January.