Tuesday night, Ryan Poles picked up the phone and reopened trade talks for Jeffery Simmons. By Thursday, the deal was done. Monday night in Seattle, two Bears defensive tackles left a 34-17 win hurt. The Bears defensive line injuries were the only thing that spoiled the night, and they landed four days after the biggest swing of Poles’ tenure.
Bears Defensive Line Injuries: Street Carted Off, Jarrett Doubtful
Kentavius Street went down with a knee injury in the fourth quarter. He was helped off in visible pain, carted off the field and ruled out. Grady Jarrett, the starter at left tackle, left in the same quarter with a groin injury and was then listed as doubtful to return.
Street had started each of Chicago’s first seven games before Simmons took his spot. With both gone, Neville Gallimore and Shemar Turner were the only healthy defensive tackles left beside Simmons, who ended up working more than Chicago may have planned.
Jeffery Simmons Showed Exactly What the Bears Paid For
He made the most of it. Simmons led the team with six tackles, added a sack, two tackles for loss and a pass defensed, and the Bears held Seattle to 252 yards. “When I attacked the field, I wasn’t worried about the trade,” he said afterward.
That’s the player Chicago paid a 2027 first, a 2028 first and a 2027 fourth for, with a 2028 fifth coming back. Simmons is a three-time All-Pro who led all interior linemen with 11.0 sacks last season.
Here’s the part that makes the price easier to swallow. Without that trade, Street’s injury takes a starter off the front. With it, the injury takes a backup. Call it luck or call it foresight, but Poles bought insurance Thursday and the Bears needed it Monday.
A Thin Interior Meets a Short Week
Time for healing got shorter in a hurry. Jarrett is 33 and missed three games last season with a knee injury. Street’s knee is the bigger question after he was carted off. The Bears defensive line injuries hit with Tampa Bay (3-5) coming to Soldier Field on Sunday night, six days after the Seattle game, so there’s little time to heal.
Poles has until Nov. 10 to make another move. He’s already spent his 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, so any new help would cost something other than a first-rounder.
Nobody plans for the Bears defensive line injuries. Poles, whether by luck or by design, planned around them.
Bears Defensive Line Injuries Make the Simmons Trade Look Even Smarter