The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 10, and the Buffalo Bills should be active in adding defensive help, but a potential target was traded on Tuesday.
The Tennessee Titans reportedly traded away defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears. Tennessee will get a 2027 and 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fourth-rounder in exchange for Simmons and a 2028 fifth-rounder.
Simmons could’ve been a target for the Bills, as CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles named him a trade deadline fit on Monday.
“Even with big leaps from defensive tackle Deone Walker and EDGE Greg Rousseau, the Bills are 24th in defensive rushing success rate, and with Ed Oliver’s injury issues, Buffalo has been iffy up front outside of Walker. Buffalo has long maintained the status quo at the deadline, but this is the year to change that in a big way,” Pereles wrote.
“Simmons is a superstar — one of the best defenders on the planet, regardless of position. Could you imagine combining him with Walker? Legitimately terrifying. It would also help a leaky secondary. When opposing quarterbacks aren’t pressured, the Bills are getting shredded: 30th in defensive EPA per play and dead last in defensive success rate. That has to change.”
Simmons has been in the NFL since 2019, when the Titans drafted him in the first round, and he spent eight seasons in Tennessee recording 46.5 sacks and making four Pro Bowls, with his last in 2025.
The 29-year-old defensive tackle signed a three-year, $105.8 million extension with the Titans in June, running through the 2030 season.
The Bills Could’ve Fixed Some Issues Trading For Simmons
If the Bills had made a splash for Simmons, that could’ve helped address some of their defensive issues. The Bills are giving up 285.8 passing yards per game this season, which is second-worst in the NFL. One way to fix that is to get someone who can get home to the quarterback. Simmons has 24 pressures and four sacks this season.
But would the Bills have paid the price that the Bears did to land Simmons? Trading two first-rounders and a fourth-round pick for a defensive tackle who turns 30 next year is steep, but Buffalo is different from many NFL organizations.
The Bills have one of the NFL’s best offenses, but their defense could be why they don’t make the Super Bowl again.
Adding a player like Simmons doesn’t guarantee a Super Bowl berth, but it would likely have improved the defense. Giving up two first-round picks and a fourth-round pick could have benefited the Bills, especially since they are in win-now mode.
Buffalo Can’t Trust Ed Oliver to Stay Healthy
Buffalo does have good defensive tackles like DeWayne Carter, Deone Walker, and Ed Oliver, but Oliver has had the injury bug the last two seasons and can’t be counted on. Oliver appeared in only three games last season with an ankle injury and bicep strain, and this season he has also appeared in only three games, missing three with a hip injury and a left knee injury.
The Bills still have less than two weeks to upgrade the defense, but a few defensive line options are off the board. The 49ers made a trade on Tuesday, sending a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Indianapolis Colts for defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
Bills Miss Chance to Add $105.8m Defender Less Than 2 Weeks Before Trade Deadline