The NFL trade deadline kicked into high gear on Tuesday as the NFC West made back-to-back big moves. It started with Seattle trading for Pro Bowl guard Quentin Nelson from Indianapolis. Their division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, quickly followed up by grabbing his teammate, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. It’s pretty clear that both teams feel comfortable enough with their status as contenders to make a big move. Naturally, Chicago Bears fans are wondering if GM Ryan Poles is finally ready to do the same. When looking at the landscape, there is no shortage of notable names who could be available. However, most would agree that defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is the biggest fish in the pond.
We’re talking about an interior player who is equally dominant playing the run and rushing the passer. At 29 years old, he’s on course for another Pro Bowl season for the Tennessee Titans. Unfortunately, the team is still terrible, sitting at 1-6. It seems like a logical decision to flip Simmons for a nice return while his value is still high. There is no shortage of teams that would want him. However, the Bears may have an advantage over all of them.
A friend of Poles controls Jeffery Simmons.
Tennessee hired Mike Borgonzi as its new general manager this past offseason. Before that, he was the right-hand man of Brett Veach with the Kansas City Chiefs. He and Poles arrived with that franchise at the same time in 2009 and climbed the ranks together. They have a close relationship as a result. As we’ve already seen, such relationships can mean the difference in trades like this. Seattle exploited one when they secured Nelson. Seahawks GM John Schneider is tight with Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds from their time together in Seattle.
Poles already having an established line of communication with Borgonzi is incredibly huge. The two have a mutual trust that should help the process. We already saw that play out between the Bears GM and Ian Cunningham when they swung the Gervon Dexter trade. It is hardly a stretch to think the same could happen with Borgonzi, just in reverse. It comes down to price. Simmons is 29 years old. While not old, he’s on the tail end of his prime. Tennessee can’t expect a maximum return for him. Still, a 1st round pick feels like the ballpark.
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That is uncharted territory for Poles.
In his entire run as GM, he’s never given up a 1st round pick for a veteran player before. It goes against his usual credo of keeping your high draft picks and using them on young talent. That said, we know he’s not afraid to take risks. Is Jeffery Simmons the caliber of player that can change a defense overnight? Yes, he is. There are very few in the NFL who control the line of scrimmage on every snap like he can. If there is one guy who can live up to surrendering a 1st round pick, it’d be him.
The best comparison would be the Dexter Lawrence trade Cincinnati made in the offense. He is a similar age to Simmons and instantly transformed the Bengals defense. Imagine what Simmons could do for Montez Sweat and Austin Booker on the edge. He and Dayo Odeyingbo could form a brutal interior pass rush to deal with. Dennis Allen has never had a player of his caliber before. The possibilities are endless.
