The NFL trade deadline – and the rest of the league – just got thrown for a loop.
With 12 days until the league's annual cutoff for player swaps, the Chicago Bears agreed to a trade that landed them three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons
from the Tennessee Titans. In exchange for Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick, the Titans received first-round picks in 2027 and 2028 as well as a fourth-round pick in 2027.A deal that should reverberate throughout the league figures to shape the futures of both sides for years to come. In pulling off the boldest move of the NFL's season to date, the Bears attempted to push their current crew to the top of the conference pecking order. The Titans, meanwhile, removed perhaps the last remaining franchise
cornerstone in an effort to build for the longer term.
But who came out ahead in the deal? Here are our grades for each team:
Bears trade grade: A-
The week began with two of the NFC's leading contenders in the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers addressing their weak spots via splashy trades. It's now set to end with Chicago announcing its place in that tier with the defining move of the deadline.
With Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson's offense in top form, the Bears already had a strong case to be seen in that class. But this is a move that should send shockwaves through the cutthroat NFC North and alter the playoff outlook for the entire conference.
Simmons hasn't received his rightful due on a national stage for what's been Defensive Player of the Year-caliber play, including this season. So far in 2026, he is tops among all defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate, according to ESPN. He finished first in that metric in 2024 and second in 2025. He's faced the second-most double teams of any interior linemen yet also paced his position in pressures (28), according to Next Gen Stats. And he continues to be among the league's best as a run-stuffer, too.
Simmons is nothing short of a gravitational force for Dennis Allen's defense, which sorely needed this kind of figure.
The defensive coordinator has done laudable work in making the most of this roster. Still, Chicago has long lacked the kind of penetrating interior force that makes Allen's scheme hum. The lack of reliable disruption has had a deleterious effect on the rest of the unit, but Allen has managed to keep things together.
Now, a bend-but-don't-break group might actually be capable of breaking opponents.
This is a sizable investment in a defense tackle with a top-of-market contract. But this is not this year's version of Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts, with the Bears' consistent offense likely safeguarding the team from a comparable outcome. Getting a true difference-maker on the interior line was always going to be a difficult proposition for general manager Ryan Poles. After seeing the year-to-year volatility that the rival Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings have had to endure after missing out on what seemed like prime title shots, it's understandable why he decided to give this group what it most needed for a title push.
Titans trade grade: C
The return is unquestionably good. The premium draft capital will give general manager Mike Borgonzi his best chance yet at collecting a core truly capable of propelling a rudderless group forward.
Yet it's hard to trust that a franchise known for reversing course has finally picked one plan of attack it'll stick with. When Tennessee brought on Robert Saleh to boost its defense and then went on an offseason spending spree to add solid if unspectacular veterans at key spots, it seemed to be trying to fast-track a return to relevance. But after a 1-6 start, this trade seems to suggest an embrace of a wider reset.
Prioritizing a longer-term build was a necessary step for a team that, even if it had manifested its initial vision, likely was a long way off from competing within the AFC. But Borgonzi and Saleh now might have to endure the darkness for at least a season-and-a-half while getting young assets in-house and developing them.
Will owner Amy Adams Strunk tolerate that timeline? There's nothing about the organization's actions in the last several years, which have featured several power struggles and about-faces, to suggest she will.
Losing Simmons is also massively deflating to a fan base that was supposed to be energized by the opening of a new stadium next year. And there's likely a severe toll on a locker room that should have been inspired by Simmons' perseverance amid a difficult landscape.
If Borgonzi starts hitting big on some of his draft picks, maybe this will be seen as the needed launch for a long-sought new era. For now, however, it just seems like the latest – and likely not the last – pivot for a franchise with commitment problems.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who won Jeffery Simmons trade? Grading Bears, Titans in blockbuster deal
