Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons has been a staple of the Tennessee Titans, and Nashville in general, since 2019. He has been a large figure in the community and one of Tennessee’s top defensive stars. But on Thursday, the Titans traded him to the Chicago Bears for two first-round draft picks.
“Woke up, had no idea what was about to happen, what was going down. Went into the building, sitting down with teammates, eating breakfast and I get a phone call from my agent and of course, he broke the news,” Simmons said. “Emotion was very high. Miss Amy, Tennessee, nothing but good to me. That organization for the last eight years have poured into me and I’ve tried everything I’ve had in me to pour into the city of Nashville and to that organization.
Things happens in this business. I’ve been around for a long time now and you learn that and try to take the feelings out of it. But man, I’ll tell you, [Thursday] was pretty hard. To have that phone call with my family and to leave my daughter [Thursday], that was probably the hardest part [Thursday], hugging her before I [headed] to the airport was one of the hardest parts. At three yards old at that age, they don’t really understand what’s about to happen and from almost seeing her every day of the week to got to figure out that schedule now, it’s been a lot of emotion these last couple of days.”
“Tennessee was nothing but good to me.”🙏
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) October 30, 2026
Jeffery Simmons on the emotions of being traded from the Titans: pic.twitter.com/EBDNA9UVpa
The Bears do not play Tennessee in 2027. However, based on the NFL’s rotation of opponents, it appears Chicago may play the Titans in Nashville in 2028, setting up Simmons’ return to the team he played for for eight years. In his time with Tennessee, Simmons with the tenth most sacks in Titans’ history with 46.5 sacks.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Jeffery Simmons praises Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk
