Bears Pay Three First-Round Picks to Land Jeffery Simmons

The Chicago Bears traded their first-round picks for 2027 and 2028, along with a fourth-round selection next year, to acquire defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans on Thursday.

In return, the Bears received Simmons and a fifth-round pick in the 2028 draft. This exchange represents a substantial capital investment for a player who is 29 years old and currently playing for a team with a 1-6 record.

Simmons has recorded four sacks in seven games this season. According to Next Gen Stats, he leads all defensive tackles with 28 pressures. He is the only player in the league to have earned three sacks against double teams this year. Last season, he posted a career-high 11 sacks in 15 games and earned first-team All-Pro honors.

The Bears are 5-2 and have won their last two games. They are trailing the undefeated Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North. The addition of Simmons aims to strengthen a defensive line that coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles previously identified as a priority for improvement.

Tennessee general manager Mike Borgonzi acknowledged the difficulty of the decision. "Jeff has been an elite player here in this organization, both on and off the field," 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."

Titans coach Robert Saleh addressed the team's poor performance leading up to the trade. "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," Saleh said. "And eventually a team threw a hook big enough that I don’t think any of us could have said no to."

The Bears won the NFC North title last year for the first time since 2018. They finished that season with an 11-6 record and advanced to the divisional round before losing to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime. Johnson noted the constant dialogue between coaching and management regarding roster moves. "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.

Simmons, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 305 pounds, was selected by the Titans in the first round of the 2019 draft out of Mississippi State. He signed a contract extension in June that reportedly covered three years and included more than $100 million in guaranteed money. He was teammates with Bears defensive end Montez Sweat at Mississippi State.