The Chicago Bears made a statement on Thursday when they swung a trade with the Tennessee Titans for All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. While the Bears also picked up a fifth-round pick in this trade, they had to give up a pair of first-round picks and a fourth-round selection, which is a massive haul, even when considering what Simmons is capable of.
For all intents and purposes, Simmons could very well shore up a defensive line that was easily Chicago’s biggest area of weakness to begin the year, but giving up such a large bounty of picks for any player is always going to be a risk. However, if you ask general manager Ryan Poles, it sounds like he believes that Simmons is a player who can help the Bears go on a Super Bowl run this season.
Ryan Poles Explains Bears Decision to Trade Jeffery Simmons
While Chicago has cruised out to a 5-2 start this season (even with quarterback Caleb Williams missing some time with a hamstring injury), it was clear that this roster needed some help ahead of the trade deadline. The defensive line was easily the biggest need, which led to the team showing interest in DeForest Buckner before he was dealt to the San Francisco 49ers.
Once it became clear Buckner was returning to the Niners, the Bears pivoted and turned their attention to Simmons, who wasn’t initially believed to be readily available on the trade market. Poles forced the Titans’ hand, though, by giving their front office an offer that they simply could not refuse, no matter how much they valued and respected Simmons.
When you make this sort of deal, though, expectations are going to be high, which means there’s a lot of pressure on Poles and Simmons, as fans will be looking for this deal to yield immediate results. From Poles’ perspective, though, that’s precisely why he made this trade, as he believes that a superstar defensive tackle is needed in order to win a Super Bowl, which is precisely what Simmons will look to be for the Bears now.
“If you do the research, Super Bowl teams, probably go back to 2018, since then, they all have what we’ll call a red-level interior defensive lineman,” Poles said when speaking to reporters. “In order to get to there, you need one … We’ve been searching. It was an opportunity we had to jump on.”
Bears Go All-In on Their Super Bowl Push
Even as he’s gotten older, Simmons has remained one of, if not the best, defensive tackles in the league. He was a First Team All-Pro last season after he racked up a career-high 11 sacks, and he’s already picked up 38 tackles and four sacks in seven games with the Titans this year. Now that he’s joining a competitive Bears team, his production could quickly skyrocket.
Chicago has picked up Simmons at a good time, as it will square off against the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in Week 8. The Seahawks, of course, feature a deep defensive line that has wreaked havoc for the past year-and-a-half now, so in some ways, the Bears are looking to copy what they have created. Kickoff for this Monday Night Football contest between two NFC powerhouses is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. ET.
Bears’ Ryan Poles Turns Heads With Super Bowl Comments After Jeffery Simmons Trade