The Chicago Bears made some NFL history two weeks ago when they sent two 1st round picks to the Tennessee Titans for Jeffery Simmons. It marked the first time a team had given up that big of a package for a defensive tackle. General manager Ryan Poles felt Simmons’ ability to disrupt the line of scrimmage was something the team had been missing. Not to mention, he brought a caliber of leadership that is difficult to find. If anybody could transform the Bears’ defense, it’d be him.
What nobody really knew at the time was how Simmons himself reacted to it. One would think he’d be excited. The Titans were in a bad way, having won only a single game this season. It felt increasingly clear that they were headed for a roster overhaul. Those tend to take time. At 29 years old, Simmons didn’t have that kind of time. Going to a team that was 5-2 and in the playoff hunt probably felt like an early Christmas. Except it wasn’t that simple. Simmons explained to Rich Eisen on his podcast that his first reaction to the news was far from giddy.
Jeffery Simmons was upset.
“I was actually in the building when it happened. He (his agent) called me and I had a couple missed calls from him. My phone’s always on Do Not Disturb up until eight o’clock. And he called me, he was like, ‘It’s happening and you’ve been traded’…I stood up and, like, something just went through my body. I’m like, ‘Dang, this is really about to happen.’ Because I’m tired and he’s not calling me at 7:45 in the morning for nothing
That’s when I knew. But, like I said, it was one of the things where I just didn’t think that would happen to me. Especially going on, I’m on year eight here. I feel like, one: I had a great relationship with Miss Amy (Adams-Sistrunk). Two, I felt like I was the kind of the glue of trying to hold this locker room and trying to hold everything together here in Tennessee…I was like, really pissed off that it really happened right then and there because for me it was like I was still going out there playing my tail off and giving Tennessee everything I had when I stepped on that field, in the locker room, practice field, and in this community.”
This offers a window into who the player and the man are.
Too often these days, you hear about players who don’t have any real loyalty to organizations. They’re mostly interested in maximizing their earning potential and will play for the highest bidder. If they get traded? Oh well, maybe the next team will pay me. Simmons isn’t wired that way. He’s a family man who strongly believes that once he puts down roots, he’ll stay. From his perspective, the trade felt like an admission from the organization that he wasn’t good enough anymore.
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That, of course, is ridiculous. The trade had nothing to do with Jeffery Simmons declining as a player, nor his presence in the locker room. This was entirely a business decision. Tennessee sensed an opportunity to kick-start a rebuild with Chicago’s offer. If they waited even a little longer, his value would likely decline as he hit his 30s. The team wasn’t going anywhere, even with him playing his best football. It would be best for all parties for that trade to happen. Simmons gets the chance to go somewhere and win. Tennessee gets to start over with plenty of ammunition to reload.
Things seem to be working out fine.
After the initial culture shock of changing teams for the first time in his career, Simmons has meshed perfectly with the Bears’ locker room. Teammates already love him, and he’s establishing himself as a vocal leader. He’s been everything the team hoped for and more. Everybody got better the moment he stepped on the field. The Bears aren’t asking him to forget everything he accomplished in Tennessee. They’re merely asking him to help them win a championship. Nothing more, nothing less.
It sounds like he can get on board with that. With time, hopefully he’ll come to love Chicago as much as he loved Tennessee. The Bears made it work with Julius Peppers years ago after he left Carolina. The same can happen for Big Jeff. All he has to focus on is the next three months. Keep doing what he’s been doing for close to a decade. Wreck shop.
