There’s a mighty big difference in the price Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles paid for Jeffery Simmons and what he gave up three years ago for Montez Sweat.
The premium the Bears met to get Simmons, a first-team All-Pro last season, out of Tennessee erases projection when it comes to the impact he can make for his new team.
The Bears talked about Sweat being a “multiplier” — a player whose presence alone elevates the level of those around him — when Poles acquired him from the Washington Commanders for a second-round pick on Oct. 31, 2023. That was forecasting sunny days ahead as much as it was leaning into Sweat’s resume.
Simmons, on the other hand, is a guy who changes the math immediately for defensive coordinator Dennis Allen. Nobody at Halas Hall needs to extrapolate what Simmons will mean for the Bears (5-2), who reached the divisional round of the playoffs last season and entered Week 8 behind only the Minnesota Vikings (6-0) and San Francisco 49ers (6-1) in wins in the NFC.
Make no mistake, Poles paid an enormous price to add Simmons, who is 29 and had a career-high 11 sacks last season. He had four sacks, six tackles for a loss and four deflections through seven games this season for a lousy Titans team that will take the draft capital and try to reboot in Year 2 under coach Robert Saleh.
One reason Simmons is praised so thoroughly is the character matches the performance. The Titans went to the playoffs in his first three seasons, and it has been all downhill in Nashville since. Tennessee is 7-34 since the beginning of the 2024 season and has seen constant upheaval throughout the organization.
But who ever heard Simmons grumble?
“The Bears are getting a true alpha and a leader,” one veteran scout texted Thursday, unprompted. “Jeff empties the tank on Sundays. Dominant run defender and a really good pass rusher. A must-account-for guy at all times. Game wrecker who loves the game.”
Sounds like the kind of guys the Bears have been trying to collect in their locker room, and that’s not just a footnote because if you’re going to part with massive draft capital to add a player who will be one of the highest-paid on the roster, he better match your standards.
The only other defensive players acquired via an in-season trade for two first-round picks are cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey (2019 Los Angeles Rams) and Sauce Gardner (2025 Indianapolis Colts). Ramsey helped the Rams win a Super Bowl in his third year. The Gardner trade is trending toward being a loss for the Colts.
The Bears traded two first-round picks to acquire edge rusher Khalil Mack a week before the 2018 opener. It looked like a masterstroke that season as the Bears dominated defensively. Mack was really good the next two seasons — maybe a tick shy of great — and then dealt with injuries in 2021.
If the measuring stick for success with the Simmons move is Super Bowl or bust, that’s not unfair. Poles and the Bears appear well-positioned to take multiple swings at it with coach Ben Johnson, quarterback Caleb Williams and a strong offensive cast.
That’s why Poles could feel comfortable with this move. He has Simmons for 10 games this season, beginning Monday night in Seattle, and Simmons is under contract for four more seasons through 2030. Defensive tackles tend to age well, so it’s reasonable to believe he can deliver elite play in 2027, when he’ll be 30, and again in 2028.
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Anything beyond that is gravy. The Bears are very much focused on the present.
Unlike Mack, whom the Bears had to pay after acquiring him from the Oakland Raiders, the Titans already did the contract for Simmons, signing him to an extension in June that included a $20 million signing bonus. That contributed to the high draft-pick compensation the Bears had to pay.
Allen’s defense now has a legitimate difference maker, and you have to give him credit for making it work to this point. Whether it’s a case in which the whole is greater than the sum of the parts or it’s smoke and mirrors — or maybe a little bit of both — Simmons now changes the calculus. Opposing offenses will highlight him every week.
“Well, two hours of anxiety last night is gone,” center Ted Karras told Cincinnati media Thursday, three days before the Bengals’ game versus the Titans.
Bears offensive coordinator Press Taylor was in his office Thursday morning, deep in preparation for a talented Seahawks defense, when his brother, Bengals coach Zac Taylor, FaceTimed him.
“Thank you,” Zac Taylor said with a grin spread across his face.
Press Taylor wasn’t positive what was up and then found out the Bears indeed had landed Simmons.
The Bears have held up pretty well in some basic defensive metrics. They’re eighth in total defense (313.4 yards per game), third versus the run (87.6) and 18th against the pass (225.9). But all of that is partially a product of the offense’s ability to play keep-away with a league-high average time of possession of 35 minutes, 30 seconds. The next-closest offense is three minutes behind the Bears.
The Bears defense ranks 32nd in yards per play (6.25) and yards per pass (8.15) and 23rd in yards per rush (4.44) — evidence that the more it’s on the field, the worse things will be.
Adding Simmons to the middle of the defensive line affects everything. It will create one-on-one opportunities for teammates, including Sweat, with whom Simmons played at Mississippi State. Allen won’t have to lean on the blitz so much to create pressure. And Simmons is probably a better run defender than he is a pass rusher — and he’s elite at that compared with other interior players.
Poles’ biggest move since trading the No. 1 pick in 2023 to the Carolina Panthers — a deal that led to the pick used to select Williams — comes at the right time. That’s because rivals in the rugged NFC North have help arriving too.
Green Bay Packers edge rusher Micah Parsons reportedly will return to practice next week, meaning his comeback from a torn ACL is nearly complete. The Detroit Lions were hurting in the secondary, but versatile safety Brian Branch is back and fellow safety Kerby Joseph is practicing.
The Vikings, meanwhile, have the No. 1 defense in the NFL, so the Bears had to do something to improve their chances of playing true complementary football as the playoff race heats up.
The Bears believe with Simmons they have a chance to make this deal a winner for them multiple times over, meaning this year and in seasons to come. They didn’t win a playoff game in four seasons with Mack, but they have a better quarterback now and Johnson has proved to be elite as a play designer and caller.
Simmons will be a legitimate multiplier for the defense. The Bears just need those equations to extend deep into the postseason.
By the way, the last time Simmons was in the playoffs after the 2021 season, he had three sacks in a loss to the eventual AFC champion Bengals.
Scouting report
Nick Emmanwori, Seahawks defensive back
Information for this report was obtained from NFL scouts
Nick Emmanwori, 6-foot-3, 220 pounds, is in his second season after he was selected in the second round (No. 35) of the 2025 draft out of South Carolina. Entering the draft, some wondered about his instincts in pass coverage, but he has become a versatile performer in Seattle, where he plays nickel back, safety and even a little linebacker.
Emmanwori is tied for fourth on the defense with 27 tackles, despite missing the season opener, and has two sacks, seven quarterback hits and one pass breakup.
“He’s not an elite player when he’s in the deep half or the post,” the scout said. “That’s not who he is. He has to be in the right system and he is. If you put this guy in a scheme where it’s heavy Cover-2, I don’t know where you play Emmanwori. He’s not at his best playing backward. What Seattle has done is create this versatile, hybrid player who can play as a strong safety, a slot corner in a zone scheme or a linebacker and he blitzes.
“He’s similar near the line of scrimmage to Derwin James, but he doesn’t have Derwin’s range or ball skills over the top. But with what the Seahawks do, this guy makes an impact all the time. He can run and match underneath. He’s violent and disruptive and he’s tough in space for people to block in the box. Credit to that staff and their scouts for identifying what he is for them.”