He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2003 NFL draft after playing college football for the Texas Longhorns.

Simms grew up in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey and attended Ramapo High School, where he was a standout in both football and basketball.

[1] In football, he was a two-time All-State honoree, and was named the 1998 USA Today National Offensive Player of the Year.

He spent his freshman year as the backup to Major Applewhite, and saw limited playing time until the end of the season.

Simms would again get a chance to start when Applewhite suffered a season-ending knee injury on the last drive of the Texas Tech game.

[9] Mack Brown was impressed enough to name Simms the starter before the start of spring practice, a decision that proved controversial.

But the following week, Texas Tech quarterback Kliff Kingsbury threw for 473 yards to upset the Longhorns 42–38, despite Simms playing one of his best games, and scuttle their national championship dreams.

[16] Simms was selected with the last pick of the third round in 2003 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with the expectation that he would eventually be the successor to Brad Johnson.

Simms saw his first action on September 19, 2004, against the Seattle Seahawks after a below-average performance by Johnson, coming into the game with 10:32 left in the 2nd quarter.

Simms went 5–8 for 75 yards but injured his shoulder early in the game and missed three weeks, allowing Brian Griese to secure the position with three straight wins.

Simms saw occasional action as the backup QB to Griese and started a meaningless final game against the Arizona Cardinals where he threw for 224 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions.

Simms got his first snap of the season after Miami Dolphins linebacker Zach Thomas was pushed onto Griese's leg with several minutes left in the game on October 16, 2005.

The two losses in this stretch were against the defending Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots, and the Chicago Bears, who were ranked #1 in the league in total defense, and in both of these games, Simms did not throw any interceptions, but was sacked a combined 11 times.

With the score at 17–10 late in the fourth quarter, Simms hit Edell Shepherd on an apparent 35-yard touchdown strike.

Tampa Bay lost 17–10 in a game where Washington gained only 120 yards of offense, the lowest total for a playoff winner in NFL history.

In the aftermath, Simms said he lost five pints of blood before the operation and conceded that another 45 minutes without treatment could have been fatal.

Playing on a one-year, $2.1 million contract signed before the season, Simms was eligible for free agency for 2007.

On December 27, 2006, Simms announced that he had signed a two-year extension to remain with the Buccaneers with the expectation that he would start.

Simms signed with the Tennessee Titans on September 9, 2008, after starter Vince Young was sidelined with a sprained MCL.

On November 22, 2010, he was re-signed to be a backup quarterback behind Rusty Smith, after the season-ending injury to Vince Young.

[34] On July 22, 2013, Chris Simms was included in Fox Sports' commentator lineup for the 2013 college football season.

He made his debut as color commentator when West Virginia University played the College of William & Mary on August 31, 2013.