What do Leonard Williams, Jalen Carter, Chris Jones, Fletcher Cox, and Aaron Donald all have in common? They’re all difference-making, All-Pro-level interior defenders who won Super Bowls. The Chicago Bears believe they just acquired one who can help them get there.
At his press conference earlier today, Bears general manager Ryan Poles was asked what the trade for Jeffery Simmons means to him after a “five-year journey” to get the position right.
“Yeah, you probably go all the way back to the first
free agency when I took a shot there,” Poles said about his signing of Larry Ogunjobi, who failed his physical and had the contract rescinded.
“I remember having conversations with you guys, and I hear it all the time; it’s like, ‘Does Poles see value in offensive linemen and defensive linemen?’ I’m well aware of the impact that those guys have on football teams,” he said. “If you do the research, you know, Super Bowl teams, really, probably you go back to 2018; since then, they all have what we call a red-level interior defensive lineman. So in order to get to there, you need one. I really believe that.”
“So we’ve been searching, but the draft, again, when you go best available, sometimes the draft doesn’t provide that to you. Sometimes I know free agency really doesn’t do that at that level. It’s very hard for guys to get out of the building when they have all of those things that we’re talking about. So, we’ve been searching.”
The 29-year-old Simmons has 4 Pro Bowl nods and has been named to 3 All-Pro Teams.
“It was an opportunity that we had to jump on,” Poles said af the chance to trade for Simmons. “I’ve talked to you guys before in a lot of different situations. We’re going to stay opportunistic. We’re going to stay flexible. If something presents itself, we’ll see how does this fit, and this is one that we felt like we could make work. And again, it’s going to help us short-term and long-term.”
Simmons is at practice today, and he’s scheduled to meet the media after.
Poles said it was up to the coaches if Simmons will play this week.
The Bears will have one more regular practice tomorrow and have a walk-through before playing the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen held a pre-practice presser and said, “The more he (Simmons) can digest, the more opportunities there will be for him on the field. This will be a work in progress.”
My guess is he’ll make his Chicago Bears debut under the lights in Seattle.
