They made him an offer he couldn't refuse...
It's not exactly a joyous occasion to see star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons traded to the Chicago Bears, but Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi appears to have been asked to essentially name his price.
The Bears paid a king's ransom to get Simmons off the Titans' hands. While this move may indicate that a full-scale rebuild is on the horizon, it also gives the Titans some very important arrows in the quiver for the next couple of NFL Draft classes.
Titans' haul for Jeffery Simmons was simply too good to pass on
Let's quickly compare the haul the Tennessee Titans got for Jeffery Simmons with the haul the Dallas Cowboys got for Micah Parsons, who is two years younger than Simmons and plays a more "premium" position in today's NFL.
Titans' haul from Bears in Jeffery Simmons trade
- 2027 1st-round pick
- 2028 1st-round pick
- 2027 4th-round pick
Cowboys' haul from Packers in Micah Parsons trade
- 2026 1st-round pick
- 2027 1st-round pick
- DL Kenny Clark
Regardless of the difference between Kenny Clark and a 2027 4th-round pick, you can obviously see that these deals are remarkably similar. Simmons is coming off the best season of his NFL career in 2025, and already has 4.0 sacks in the first seven games this season.
He is once again playing dominant football.
Whether that pass rush productivity is coming off the edge or from the inside, having a consistent force in that department is essential for contending NFL teams. The Bears felt like they were missing that type of presence, and they paid the price to get one.
You can almost picture how the conversation went down between Bears GM Ryan Poles and Borgonzi.
Borgonzi picks up his phone and hears Poles on the other end. Poles asks what it would take to get Jeffery Simmons off Borgonzi's hands, and Borgonzi gives a polite laugh, telling Poles that he's not available.
So Poles presses in and asks what it would 'hypothetically' take to get Simmons, and Borgonzi floats out a wild idea he thinks will cause Poles to say, "Yep, that's too rich."
Only, to his surprise, Poles says he will do it.
That might not be far off from the truth, in all reality. There is no way the Titans were shopping a player like Simmons given this type of price tag. This is a clear instance of a team like the Bears feeling they are in a Super Bowl window, and making calls to see what types of impact players they can add.
A move like this stings in the moment, but it can help the Titans add significant building blocks in the very near future.
Add us as a preferred source on Google