The Chicago Bears agreed on Thursday morning, October 29, 2026, to acquire All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans, in a trade the Titans announced the same day and that cost Chicago two first-round picks.
Tennessee receives the Bears' 2027 first-round pick, their 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fourth-rounder. Chicago receives Simmons and the Titans' 2028 fifth-round pick. The deal was agreed pending a physical.
Twelve days remain before the trade deadline, which falls on November 10 at 4 p.m. ET.
Two teams going opposite ways
The Bears are 5-2 and in the part of the calendar where a contender decides whether to spend future drafts on the present. Chicago has quarterback Caleb Williams and a group of young starters still on rookie contracts, a window general manager Ryan Poles has treated as open. The team plays the Seattle Seahawks on Monday night.
The Titans started the season 1-6 under new head coach Robert Saleh and have been rebuilding. Simmons was the last obvious piece of the previous roster still carrying a premium price. Tennessee visits the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
What Chicago bought
Simmons was Tennessee's first-round pick in the 2019 draft and leaves as a four-time Pro Bowl selection and a five-time team captain, earning his first All-Pro honor in 2025. In June the Titans signed him to a three-year, $105.8 million extension with $100 million guaranteed, according to NFL.com — the contract Chicago now takes on.
Entering Week 8, Next Gen Stats credited Simmons with 28 pressures, the most of any defensive tackle in the league. Against double teams he produced 10 pressures and three sacks, both best at his position, and he had 21 run stops, tied for second among defensive tackles.
Simmons himself appeared not to expect the move. Speaking on Wednesday, a day before the agreement, he said he had heard nothing from his agent or the club: "As far as I know, I am going to be here."
Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk marked the departure in a statement: "There are few people like Jeff Simmons. We are forever grateful for all he has given this team and this city."
The sell-off is already broad
Tennessee is not the only team moving veterans. On October 27 the Indianapolis Colts sent defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 fourth-round pick, and agreed to send guard Quenton Nelson to the Seahawks for 2027 third-round and 2028 fifth-round picks.
Two first-round picks for a 2019 draftee on a nine-figure contract is an unusually heavy price by recent deadline standards, and it is the clearest signal so far of how Chicago reads its own season.
Reporting from the Tennessee Titans, NFL.com and ESPN.
