Maybe this will turn out to be so historic. Jeffrey Simmons has landed in the Windy City, a new Monster of the Midway who instantly elevates the Chicago Bears defense into a unit bringing a whole different level of fear.
The first-team All-Pro defensive tackle can stuff the run and generate a quick, in-your-face pass rush from the middle of the trenches. You know, the shortest distance to putting a quarterback flat on his back is right up the gut. Simmons, 29, seems like the type who can not only blow up double-team blocking schemes, but also leap tall buildings in a single bound and probably breathe fire if he chooses.
Now that’s monstrous.
It’s no wonder uber-aggressive Bears GM Ryan Poles – as good a rep as anyone for the new wave of decision
makers juicing an increasingly active NFL trade market – picked up the phone on Wednesday night and made the Tennessee Titans an offer they couldn’t refuse.
Two first-round picks.
That’s a high price that reflects high expectations with the deal announced on Thursday, Oct. 29, which includes a swap of mid-round picks. No, proven talents like Simmons are not a dime a dozen. Especially when they can become an essential piece to a Super Bowl formula for a franchise that hasn't won the big game in more than 40 years.
That’s why blockbuster moves like this are made, they are inspired by a Super Bowl 61 mission.
To quote the great philosopher Bruce Arians, "No risk it, no biscuit."
Bears' Jeffery Simmons trade already historic, could become epic
The Bears' move is already historic in one sense. Simmons is such a difference-maker that he's the first defensive tackle traded for multiple first-round picks during the Super Bowl era.
And here's why: Since the start of the 2025 season, while toiling for the awful Titans, Simmons leads all NFL D-tackles in sacks (15), third-down sacks (9 ½), tackles for loss (23) and then some.
Add Simmons as the centerpiece of a unit coordinated by Dennis Allen that has been good but not always great – the Bears lead the NFL in third-down efficiency, allowing a conversion rate of just 26.1%, but they've struggled to get consistent pressure from the D-line and rank last in the league for yards per play – and it's a new equation.
We've seen what the Bears' offense is capable of with the exploits of Caleb Williams, the NFL’s No. 1 rushing attack, a stout offensive line and the wizardry of coach Ben Johnson. Now there's a bit more balance in the mix as Simmons suddenly adds punch for his old Mississippi State teammate, Montez Sweat, coming off the edge, and for wily vet Grady Jarrett lining up beside him, among others.
As the news came down, I was reminded of a couple of trades over the years to land difference-making defensive players who helped win Super Bowls. Kids, bear with me for the history lesson (or Google for more), but during the early 1990s, the Dallas Cowboys obtained a missing piece in their Super Bowl mix with Charles Haley.
Sure, the Cowboys already had their Triplets in place with Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin. Yet Haley’s arrival from the San Francisco 49ers – costing second- and third-round picks in a deal struck days before the 1992 season opener – went beyond his impact as a premier edge rusher. He changed the whole personality of the Cowboys defense with his passion, standards and yes, the often-unruly persona that made him expendable for the 49ers. Dallas went on to win three Super Bowls, while the 49ers (who also won a Super Bowl in that '90s window) lost a key cog.
Going back further, the 49ers landed a difference-maker in 1981 with an in-season trade that brought pass-rush specialist Fred Dean from the Chargers for a second-round pick. Sure, they had Joe Montana running Bill Walsh’s offense and a young secondary on the rise led by Ronnie Lott. But Dean was a much-needed piece, essential to the franchise's first two Super Bowl crowns.
Haley and Dean, by the way, wound up in the Hall of Fame.
What does any of that have to with Simmons? Well, he's got Hall of Fame talent for sure.
But whether he has a stamp on a championship run is TBD. Hold off on crowning the Bears just yet (as the late, great Denny Green once amplified). Shoot, the 49ers (circa 2026) just bolstered their D-line, too, in dealing this week for D-tackle DeForest Buckner. And the defending champion Seahawks still have a centerpiece in D-tackle Leonard Williams, who came over from the Giants in a trade way back in 2023.
More recently, two other blockbuster trades for game-changing defensive forces provide reminders – or scream caution – that there are no guarantees with all that promise. At least not yet.
The Packers obtained Micah Parsons from the Cowboys, dealing away two first-round picks and Kenny Clark to get one of the league’s most elite pass-rushers. Parsons’ impact on Green Bay’s defense was evident last season, until he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in December.
Then there’s Myles Garrett. The Rams pulled off the biggest trade of the offseason in getting Garrett from the Browns for first-, second- and third-round picks and rising star Jared Verse. It was another aggressive action from Super Bowl-credentialed Rams GM Les Snead, who has swung one deal after another, involving the likes of Matthew Stafford, Jalen Ramsey, Aqib Talib and Von Miller.
With Garrett pegged to team with the unretired Aaron Donald, the Rams entered the season as the hands-down Super Bowl favorite. Maybe that still happens, but Garrett hasn't played since Week 1 and is recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery. And the Rams are 3-4. In other words, can't crown them yet.
Time will tell whether the Bears strike oil in getting Simmons. As it stands now, it's a risk worth taking as they are that much closer to the promised land.
-Follow Bell on X: @JarrettBell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bears land new Monster of the Midway, but don't hand them the Lombardi yet | Opinion
