Chicago goes all-in at 5-2
The Bears have made their move. Earlier today, Tennessee agreed to send All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to Chicago, a deal first reported by CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz. The Titans get the Bears’ 2027 and 2028 first-round picks plus a 2027 fourth-rounder.
That is a steep price for a 29-year-old defensive lineman. Chicago, 5-2 and sitting in the toughest division in football, decided it was worth paying anyway.
Simmons has never played for another franchise. Tennessee took him 19th overall in 2019, and he started as a rookie. He has made four Pro Bowls since 2021 and last year set career highs with 11 sacks and 17 tackles for loss, which earned him his first All-Pro nod. This season he has four sacks on a team that has won once.
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What it means for both sides
For the Bears, the idea is simple: add interior pressure to a pass rush that has been good but not great. CBS Sports graded the move an A- for Chicago, with the only knock being that it pays off fully only if the Bears win a Super Bowl. The Vikings, still unbeaten at 6-0, sit in the same division, so there is little room to coast.
Tennessee is 1-6 and heads into a game against Cincinnati without the best player on its roster. CBS gave the Titans a C+, noting that two firsts for a non-quarterback is defensible but that the trade all but confirms a lost season. The franchise has also had a rough record with its own draft picks, which makes a pair of Chicago firsts a gamble of a different kind.
The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10, and this one lands in a busy stretch. Cam Jurgens went from the Eagles to the Ravens earlier this month, and the Colts have already shipped out Quenton Nelson and helped DeForest Buckner return to San Francisco.
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