Back in 2018, Jeffery Simmons and Montez Sweat were finishing their final collegiate season at Mississippi State. They were both drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Simmons at No. 19 overall to the Tennessee Titans and Sweat at No. 26 overall to the Washington Commanders.
Now, in 2026, they will play with each other once again. The Chicago Bears traded for Sweat back in October of 2023. Nearly three years after that trade, the Bears made a blockbuster trade for Simmons, giving up two first-round picks to acquire him.
Between Simmons, Sweat and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, Chicago’s defense looks pretty stacked. Sweat and Jarrett also have no excuse to not get pressure in the backfield, even though Sweat has been struggling so far
this season. Simmons is also already displaying his leadership as he made it clear he expects his new teammates to take advantage of his presence on the interior.
“If I’m getting that slide, I expect you to go win and that’s pretty much what it is,” Simmons said. “Same with Montez. I’m like, ‘If the tackles get hanging on me and you can’t get off the ball and get a free sack, there’s something wrong.’”
Chicago will be playing the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football. It will be Simmons’ debut with the Bears and the first time he plays with Sweat since New Years’ Day of 2019 in the Outback Bowl. Sweat had 0.5 sacks and Simmons had one sack and 2.5 tackles for loss in that game.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Jeffery Simmons already holding new Bears teammates accountable
