Jeffery Simmons to the Bears: what the trade reports say

Fans are searching for Jeffery Simmons today because NFL Network and ESPN reported that the Chicago Bears are acquiring the Tennessee Titans defensive tackle. NFL.com credits the reporting to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN, and its headline calls the move a blockbuster trade [1]. The story is dated Thursday, 29 October 2026 [1].

What happened

According to NFL.com, the Titans will receive 2027 and 2028 first-round draft picks and a 2027 fourth-round pick [1]. The Bears will also receive a 2028 fifth-round selection [1]. The story gives no reason for the move [1], so the picks and the contract are the only hard terms in the reporting.

The contract is the other piece. On 19 June 2026, the Titans said they had reached a multi-year contract extension with Simmons [2]. NFL.com puts that deal at three years and $105.8 million, agreed during the offseason [1]. The Titans' announcement gives no figures [2].

The background

The Titans took Simmons 19th overall in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft [4]. Before that he played three seasons at Mississippi State, appearing in 38 games with 28 starts [3].

The Titans' bio lists four Pro Bowl selections, in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025 [3]. It also lists first-team All-Pro honors in 2025 and second-team honors in 2021 and 2022 [3]. The 2025 season set career highs in sacks and tackles for loss, and a career best in quarterback pressures [3]. The Titans' extension announcement describes the same season, with 11 sacks and 67 tackles [2].

Earlier in his Titans career, in 2021 he was named a team captain for the first time in his career [3]. In a divisional playoff game against Cincinnati on 22 January 2022, he set a franchise postseason record with three sacks [3]. NFL.com's profile of the Titans for its 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year award lists him as a second-time nominee [6].

NFL.com reported that the Titans "plan to use more of a rotation for Simmons to keep him fresh for key moments" [5]. Coaches cited third downs and two-minute situations as the moments they wanted him fresh for [5]. Simmons was born on 28 July 1997 [3], so he is 29 years old.

What comes next

NFL.com gives no reason for the trade and no account of how the Bears plan to use him [1]. The reporting does set out the price on each side: three picks to Tennessee and one fifth-round pick to Chicago, on top of a contract the Titans agreed only months earlier [1] [2].

Until a team confirms the deal, those terms come from reporters, not from an announcement [1]. For readers following the story, the next signal is an official statement from either team.