10/29/2026 02:42:00
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10/29 14:41 CDT Chicago Bears acquire DT Jeffery Simmons in pricey trade with
the Tennessee Titans
Chicago Bears acquire DT Jeffery Simmons in pricey trade with the Tennessee
Titans
By JAY COHEN
AP Sports Writer
CHICAGO (AP) --- This new addition for the Monsters of the Midway certainly
lives up to the nickname.
The Chicago Bears acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in a
blockbuster trade with the Tennessee Titans on Thursday.
The Bears sent their first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, along with a
fourth-rounder in next year's draft, to the Titans for Simmons and a
fifth-round selection in 2028.
Led by Caleb Williams, Chicago has won two in a row to improve to 5-2 going
into Monday night's game at Seattle. It is chasing the undefeated Minnesota
Vikings in the NFC North, and the addition of Simmons bolsters what had been a
questionable defensive line.
The 29-year-old Simmons has four sacks in seven games this season. He leads all
defensive tackles with 28 pressures, according to Next Gen Stats, and he is the
only player in the league who has earned three sacks against double teams.
"Jeff has been an elite player here in this organization, both on and off the
field," Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said. "My respect and admiration
for him is probably more than any player I've really been around. Just to see
the work that he puts in every day, his leadership here the past year and a
half that I've been here. These are tough decisions."
The Bears won the division last year for the first time since 2018, finishing
with an 11-6 record in coach Ben Johnson's first season in charge. They
advanced in the playoffs by edging the Green Bay Packers in a wild-card game
before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the divisional round.
The pricey trade for Simmons is another signal that Johnson and general manager
Ryan Poles think the team has what it takes to win the franchise's first Super
Bowl title since 1985.
Asked Wednesday about his role with the NFL trade deadline coming up on Nov.
10, Johnson said there was "a lot going on."
"That's certainly Ryan's domain, and yet we have constant dialogue of what this
team needs and where we can impact ourselves not just this year but years in
the future as well," Johnson said. "He's turning over every stone that he
possibly can to improve this football team just like he has ever since I've
gotten in this building and I feel really good about our process. We'll see
what happens."
Tennessee is 1-6 going into Sunday's game at Cincinnati. It went 3-14 each of
the previous two seasons, and it hasn't posted a winning record since it went
12-5 in 2021.
"No one's shopping any of our guys, but like I told our guys, when you don't
close out games and you're standing here at 1-6, teams are going to start
fishing," Titans coach Robert Saleh said. "And eventually a team threw a hook
big enough that I don't think any of us could have said no to."
Simmons was selected by the Titans in the first round of the 2019 draft out of
Mississippi State, where he was teammates with Bears defensive end Montez
Sweat. Simmons appeared in nine games as a rookie, making seven starts and
finishing with two sacks.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 305 pounds, Simmons has turned into one of the NFL's top
interior defensive linemen. He was a first-team All-Pro selection last year,
when he had a career-high 11 sacks in 15 games.
The four-time Pro Bowler signed a contract extension in June that reportedly
covered three years and included more than $100 million guaranteed.
"Each and every day I wake up, my goal is to just be where my feet are at,"
Simmons said Wednesday when asked about the possibility of being traded, "never
looking ahead right now, it's just be in the moment, and that's from each and
every day, from game day, my goal just never changes. I don't worry about the
things I can't control. Them types of things are a distraction."
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AP freelance reporter Teresa M. Walker contributed to this report.
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