The Chicago Bears made a blockbuster trade for Tennessee Titans All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, sending two first-round picks (and a Day 3 pick swap) for one of the best defenders in the NFL.
Prior to the 2026 season beginning, the Titans and Simmons reached an agreement on a three-year, $105.6 million extension, which would have kept him in Nashville through the 2030 season when he would be 33-years old. On Thursday, just months after his new deal was signed, the Simmons was traded to the Bears.
Following news that the trade had become official and Simmons will now be a member of the Bears, Tennessee's general manager Mike Borgonzi shared news on Simmons' reaction to the deal, one that shocked him. Borgonzi spoke with the media in Nashville
and stated that Simmons was not only surprised by the trade, but didn't want to leave Tennessee, where he was a first-round pick back in 2019.
"It was hard, really hard," Borgonzi said of the conversation he had with Simmons. "I don't think Jeff wanted to leave here, I thanked him for everything he's done here, on and off the field. It's a really hard conversation for him, but I think it's a really great opportunity for him, too, as I told him. To go someplace and have an opportunity to compete now, for a Super Bowl."
Titans offensive lineman JC Latham said you could see the pain on Simmons' face when news broke about the trade.
"It was obvious how much the team meant to him, how much the city means to him," Latham said.
Not only was Simmons loved as a player on the field, where he was also a five-time captain of the Titans, but his foundation "Give 'Em A Reason" worked a lot with the local youth and families in need in the Nashville community. His work off the field also made Simmons a three-time nominee for the NFL's Walter Payton Man of the Year award.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Jeffery Simmons reacts to Titans trading him to Bears
