Jeffery Simmons Traded: Titans Send Their All-Pro Tackle to the Bears for Two First-Round Picks
A day after Jeffery Simmons told reporters that, as far as he knew, he was not going anywhere, Tennessee traded him. The Titans are sending their All-Pro defensive tackle to Chicago for two first-round picks - the blockbuster of the trade-deadline season, twelve days before the November 10 deadline.
The Tennessee Titans have agreed to trade All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears, according to multiple reports Thursday, in the biggest move of the NFL's trade season so far. Chicago receives Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick. Tennessee receives first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, plus a fourth-round pick in 2027.
The timing is the story inside the story. On Wednesday, Simmons told reporters that as far as he knew, he was not going to be traded before the deadline. By Thursday, he needed what NBC Sports called a go bag: the No. 19 overall pick of the 2019 draft is leaving the only franchise he has played for, months after he and the Titans agreed to a three-year, $105.8 million contract extension before the season.
What Chicago is buying is production at the position that changes game plans. Simmons, 29, is a four-time Pro Bowler who made first-team All-Pro for the first time last season, registering a career-high 11 sacks with 17 tackles for loss. In seven games this season he has 4 sacks, six tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits - for a Tennessee team that sits at 1-6 and is now, unmistakably, collecting draft capital instead of defending a window.
For Tennessee, the return is the rebuild itself: two first-round picks in consecutive drafts, plus a fourth-rounder, for a 29-year-old tackle on a nine-figure extension. The trade deadline is November 10 at 3 p.m. Central, and the Simmons deal resets its market - every contender with a defensive-line need now knows the price of the position's top tier, and every seller knows what a true star can bring back.
