It seems the Jeffery Simmons trade is still generating reactions even days after it went down. Much of the controversy seems to stem from the New York Giants. It was revealed that head coach John Harbaugh attempted to go over the head of Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi to ownership. His goal was to convince her that it would be in the best interests of the Titans organization to open up Simmons to bidding from other teams. One would think that means the Giants, but follow-up reports suggest New York had no prayer of matching the offer Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears made.
So why make the phone call at all?
The best guess is the Giants were annoyed at not at least being included in the discussions, along with knowing the likelihood that Poles was getting a discount in the deal because he and Borgonzi were friends. NFL insider Mike Florio believes this is true. From what he’s heard, there is a strong likelihood Tennessee could’ve gotten more had they opened the bidding up to more teams. Now, it’s easy to say that after the deal is done. Every team would gladly say, “I would’ve given more!” to make themselves look better.
Then again, this only makes Poles look even better for getting Simmons at a cheaper price.
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Ryan Poles has no reason to apologize.
It’s not like he planted Borgonzi in Tennessee with the eventual intent to trade for Simmons. This was merely a case of good fortune. There have been many examples of old friends working out deals together in NFL history. Fans even saw it happen a couple of days before when Seattle GM John Schneider and Indianapolis assistant GM Ed Dodds worked out a deal for star guard Quenton Nelson. Hell, New York took advantage of a similar situation a couple of years ago. People conveniently forget that Giants GM Joe Schoen and Panthers GM Dan Morgan are close friends, with their families vacationing together. That is a primary reason New York was able to land star pass rusher Brian Burns.
Yet somehow it’s a big problem now? This has nothing to do with fairness. It is a simple case of Harbaugh being ignored and him not liking it. So he tried to tattle to Titans ownership, hoping they’d force Borgonzi to play with the other kids, too. All the while, he knew perfectly well there was no chance New York could meet the asking price. This feels like a blatant attempt by Harbaugh to stop one of his biggest obstacles in the NFC from getting a lot better. Ryan Poles merely outmaneuvered him.
Don’t expect the Bears to apologize.
After all, it’s not like Harbaugh is innocent himself. The longtime head coach was part of some pretty shady practices during his long run with the Baltimore Ravens. He has no place to complain about Poles using his personal relationships to his advantage. Nothing in the rulebook says you can’t do that. Harbaugh would’ve done the same exact thing if he knew Borgonzi personally. Let’s not act like the man is righteous. He wanted to sabotage the Bears getting one of the best defensive players in football and failed.
Meanwhile, Poles seemed to get Simmons at a lower price than some realize. A bidding war wouldn’t have guaranteed a bigger haul, but it’s possible the price could’ve approached two 1sts and a 2nd or 3rd. Keeping it at a 4th while getting a future 5th back is certainly a small victory. If the Bears are successful over the next two years, those 1st round picks won’t be as valuable as many believe. Remember, a late 1st is valued around 700 points. The top pick of the 2nd is 580. A top 10 pick is worth at least 1300.
