CHICAGO -- The Bears made a seismic move Thursday to bolster their defensive front, acquiring All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans (1-6) are receiving 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, plus a 2027 fourth-round pick, from the Bears (5-2) for Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
Simmons is the first defensive tackle in the common draft era (since 1967) to be traded for multiple first-round draft picks, according to ESPN Research.
Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said Thursday he had no intentions of trading Simmons until receiving a call Wednesday night from Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who he worked with while with the Kansas City Chiefs. The offer was the first one that made Borgonzi consider trading Simmons.
"At no point anytime since I've been here did we ever try to trade Jeffrey Simmons," Borgonzi said. "We've gotten a lot of phone calls on Jeff really since I've been hired here, but it's never really crossed my mind. And I got a phone call late last night from a person that I've known for a while, Ryan Poles ... We considered the compensation, and it was too good to pass up."
Borgonzi said he spoke to Titans coach Robert Saleh about the trade on Wednesday night and they agreed it was a good move.
"I told our guys, when you don't close out games and you're standing here at 1-6 teams are going to start fishing," Saleh said Thursday. "And eventually a team threw a hook big enough that I don't think any of us could have said no to."
Simmons, 29, has spent his entire NFL career with the Titans after being drafted in the first round in 2019. Over eight seasons, Simmons has tallied 46.5 sacks, 72 tackles for loss and 96 quarterback hits.
He was a first-team All-Pro last season, when he posted a career-best 11 sacks.
Simmons was elected Titans team captain for his sixth consecutive season in September. His four sacks, six tackles for loss and four passes defended all lead the team this season through seven games.
"There are few people like Jeff Simmons. We are forever grateful for all he has given this team and this city. His formidable presence on the field was surpassed only by what he did off it. He gave Nashville more than football. The Give 'Em A Reason Foundation has changed lives in Middle Tennessee and in Mississippi, and I have no doubt it will continue to wherever he goes. Jeff -- thank you. For how you played, how you led, and how you represented our team," Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk said in a statement.
His addition immediately upgrades a Bears defensive line that has struggled to generate pressure up front since Dennis Allen was hired as defensive coordinator in 2025.
The Bears' standard pass rush (four or fewer pass rushers) has produced a 25% pressure rate over the past two seasons, which is the fourth lowest by any defense in that time, after the 49ers (22%), Panthers (23%) and Raiders (25%).
Chicago's defense ranks 23rd in pass rush win rate from interior defenders this season (13%, per ESPN Analytics/NFL Next Gen Stats). Simmons has a 27% pass rush win rate as a defensive tackle, the highest rate in the NFL in 2026.
Trading Simmons, who played 86.6% of the defensive snaps, leaves a huge hole along the interior of Tennessee's defense. The Titans will turn to a rotation starting with veterans Solomon Thomas and John Franklin-Myers to play defensive tackle in Simmons' place.
This is arguably the most aggressive trade executed by Poles during his tenure as the Bears' GM. While Poles notably changed the trajectory of the franchise in 2023 when he sent the first overall pick to Carolina for wide receiver DJ Moore and four draft picks, one of which was used to select quarterback Caleb Williams at the top of the 2024 draft, the GM had never traded multiple first-round selections.
The Titans and Simmons agreed to a three-year $105.8 million contract extension (including $100 million guaranteed) before the start of the season that put him under contract through the 2030 season. After Tennessee stumbled to a 1-6 start, though, Simmons' name became the subject of trade discussion ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline.
On Wednesday, Simmons told reporters he did not have an indication that he could soon be on the move.
"Each and every day I wake up, my goal is to be where my feet are at," Simmons said. "I'm never looking ahead, just being in the moment each and every day. I don't worry about the things that I can't control. Those types of things are also a distraction -- that's a lot of fans and outside media. I haven't heard anything from my agent; I haven't heard anything from this organization. As far as I know, I am going to be here."
Now, Simmons will reunite with Bears defensive end Montez Sweat, with whom he played collegiately at Mississippi State.
Months after Chicago opted to add elsewhere on defense (safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush) during free agency and only brought one defensive lineman in via the draft (sixth-round defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg), the Bears made a defense and franchise-altering addition with Simmons, something that coach Ben Johnson suggested the team could do ahead of the trade deadline.
"There's a lot going on," Johnson said Wednesday. "That's certainly Ryan's domain. And yet we have constant dialogue of what this team needs and where we can impact ourselves not just this year but years in the future as well. So, he's turning over every stone that he possibly can to improve this football team just like he has ever since I've gotten in this building and feel really good about our process and we'll see what happens, never know."
ESPN's Turron Davenport contributed to this report.