If you’ve followed the NFL for long enough, you know it is a league filled with quirky individuals. Football players are a cast of characters who don’t approach the sport the way they do in the movies. Many of these guys have unique and often bizarre rituals when preparing for games. Brian Urlacher ate chocolate chip cookies before every game. Defensive tackle John Henderson had someone slap him. Marshawn Lynch drank booze and ate Skittles. Jason Kelce listened to Christmas music. Guys handle the constant pressure and preparation differently. Yet none of them hold a candle to Jonah Jackson.

The Chicago Bears traded for the veteran guard last year. He’s been an outstanding addition ever since, well worth the 6th round pick they gave up. His presence has been a key factor in their success running the ball, and he’s been a terrific mentor to ascending right tackle Darnell Wright. However, the All-Pro does have one lingering question about his line mate. It is something that has bugged him since the two first started playing together. Adam Jahns of CHGO caught wind of it.

Apparently Jonah Jackson takes A LOT of s**ts.

But Wright does have one lingering question about Jackson off the field – an important one that he hoped the author of this story would get to the bottom of through some essential, behind-the-scenes reporting.

“He’s always gotta take a s**t for some reason,” Wright told CHGO. “Ask him about that. Like, why do you always gotta use the bathroom? I don’t know what he’s eating at night.”

Make no mistake about it: this is a real thing at Halas Hall – Jackson’s routine visits to the porcelain throne – that’s worth discussing when it comes to the inner workings of arguably the best offensive line in the NFL.

“He’s always got to use the bathroom,” Wright said. “It seems like right when we’re getting into meetings, so be asking him about that.”

The Bears are finally building a cast of characters.

For the longest time, it felt like the organization was going out of its way to avoid players with any personality. They wanted milk-toast, upstanding citizens. While that might be great for a corporate hierarchy, it doesn’t do very well when building a football team. People always celebrate the 1985 Bears. They often overlook how looney that group of guys actually was. You could throw a dart randomly in that locker room, and you’d hit somebody with a weird quirk. Steven McMichael? William Perry? Jim McMahon? The list was endless.

Only now has the franchise finally begun to embrace such players again. Caleb Williams, Luther Burden, and Grady Jarrett are such examples. Jonah Jackson fits right in. Granted, his ritual is a bit messier than others, but it clearly works for him. Keeping those insides evacuated is his way of gaining comfort with his job. It reflects in how he plays on Sundays. If he keeps it up, the Bears may end up renaming one of their bathrooms after him once he retires.

There has to be a story there.

Is it something Jackson picked up when he was young? Maybe he had a weird food stretch that saw him hit the pot an abnormal number of times during a week, and he ended up playing great. As a result, he made it a point to keep doing that. Or perhaps it’s a strange medical condition. Either way, Wright is justified in at least feeling somewhat curious about it. Whatever the case, the process is working. Jackson continues to be a key fixture for the Bears’ offense amidst one of its most successful periods.

One can only hope he can keep it going for a few more years. Perhaps more incredible stories like this one will have time to emerge in the process. Regardless, fans just have more reasons to love the guy. Weird bowel movements aside, the team’s winning ways don’t happen without Jackson in the mix. That trade will likely go down as one of the best the organization has made in the past decade.

The Chicago Bears went for the home run this past week when they traded two 1st round picks to the Tennessee Titans for star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. It is the infusion of star-level talent that defensive line has desperately needed. Suddenly, a team weakness could transform into a strength if Simmons has the impact on Montez Sweat and Austin Booker that he’s had on less talented teammates. One would think general manager Ryan Poles is probably done with the trade deadline. Nobody would blame him.

However, it might not be over yet, at least not according to Ian Rapoport. The ESPN insider revealed on The Pat McAfee Show that the Bears are still looking at edge rushers ahead of the deadline despite the Simmons move.

While considering another trade is a surprise, the search for edge rush help is not. Sweat missed two games with a suspension, and Dayo Odeyingbo is still out with a quad injury. Having another quality body in the mix would protect against further setbacks. The obvious question is how much the Bears are willing to pay.

Ryan Poles stated that he has no intention of throwing away draft picks.

If we take him at his word, it’s pretty clear that he is looking for a creative way to find edge rush help without giving up a straight pick for one. In such situations, there are two methods. Either the teams exchange players they like that are deemed of equal value. Or they do a pick swap. The team acquiring said player gives up a higher pick in exchange for the player and a later pick. This way, the Bears would still have the same number of picks. They’d just end up sacrificing position in one of the rounds.

Thinking about it this way, is there a possibility they can pull off such a deal for Khalil Mack? Most believe the Los Angeles Chargers might seek a 5th round pick for the longtime edge rusher. Perhaps the Bears can get it down to where they get a 5th round pick for Mack and a 6th. As things stand, the Chargers remain stubborn about not trading anybody despite their 0-6 record. Maybe that changes after this weekend. Outside of that, are there any other names Ryan Poles could try this strategy with?

Carl Granderson might be worth watching.

The New Orleans Saints are 2-5 and fading fast after a strong start. One more loss could put them in selling mode. While Chase Young is unlikely to become available given his younger age and value, the same can’t be said for Granderson. He turns 30 years old in December and has one year left on his deal after this season. Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen knows him well from their time together in New Orleans. Granderson already has 5.5 sacks this season. A reunion could be mutually beneficial.

Barring that, Poles could just look to add some depth behind the guys they already have. That would require nothing more than a late-round pick swap. There are still 10 days left before the deadline. A lot can happen between now and then. If the Bears see Simmons and the defensive line dominate in Seattle, they may decide what the team has is enough.

Trading for Jeffery Simmons was an obvious move for the Chicago Bears. He’s one of the best defensive players in football. The interior pass rush ability alone should be worth it. He brings something to the table this team really doesn’t have. However, that is only scratching the surface of why Simmons is such a great addition. What often gets overlooked about him, because of his obvious ability, is that he’s a prick. Not in a general sense, but in a football sense. Not only is Simmons mean by disposition, but he has certain tricks that are so sneaky and effective that the refs never catch them.

Alameda on TikTok was one of the first to spot it during his 2-sack game against the Indianapolis Colts earlier this season. Incredibly, the moment didn’t come on one of Simmons’ sacks, but that of a teammate. During the play, Simmons gets double-teamed by the right guard and right tackle. He immediately knows Jacob Martin now has a one-on-one opportunity. Simmons then does something diabolical. He reaches out and grabs the shoulder pads of the right tackle, holding him in place just long enough for Martin to get around the edge unblocked for the sack.

Jeffery Simmons does this more often than you think.

Most of the time, he does things the usual way. Either he deftly beats a blocker with power or great hand-fighting technique to blow through a gap for a sack. Other times he’ll run interference on a stunt to give an edge rusher a clear lane through the A or B gaps. However, whenever he’s double-teamed, he may deploy that tactic. Last season, he did it to the New England Patriots. During a play, the right guard and center look to combine on him. Simmons first gets a hand in the face of the center to disrupt his concentration and then, ever so subtly, grabs the front of his shoulder pads.

This leaves #54 Jihad Ward one-on-one with the left guard. He pulls a move to the inside, right where the center would’ve been able to help, and sacks Drake Maye.

Remember the names he was doing that stuff for. Martin? Ward? While decent NFL veterans, they are not on the same tier as guys like Montez Sweat and Austin Booker. If career backups could benefit so much from Jeffery Simmons’ presence, imagine what those two can do. To say nothing of what might happen when Dayo Odeyingbo returns to join him along the interior.

The Bears knew what they were getting.

Simmons is a rare breed. He is the type of guy who can easily dominate on his own. Yet he decides to take things a step further by finding little tricks to give teammates premium opportunities. You don’t see many players do stuff like that. They don’t have the presence of mind to think about it. Reggie White did that. Ndamukong Suh did that. Vince Wilfork did that. Some guys are smart enough, selfless enough, and just dirty enough to pull such stunts. The Bears haven’t had anyone like that, probably, since Dan Hampton.

Now they do, and it will make everything so much easier. Offenses will hate playing against Simmons because they can’t afford to take plays off. He is so good at winning one-on-one battles that you have to constantly double-team him. Yet even doing that is hazardous because he’s willing to ensure you can’t disengage from said double-team. It’s a Catch-22. You hate the guy for doing stuff like that, but can’t help but respect his ability to pull it off.

The Chicago Bears have been down this road before. As crazy as it sounds, this is now the third time in the past 17 years that the franchise has surrendered two 1st-round picks for a veteran player. They did it in 2009 to acquire quarterback Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos. Then in 2018, they did it again for Oakland Raiders pass rusher Khalil Mack. Both moves created early success. Cutler got the team to the NFC Championship in his second season. Mack helped them win the division in his first. However, both trades ultimately came back to haunt them.

Failures to keep the roster stocked with young talent led to the team succumbing to age and depth issues, eventually falling into long, agonizing losing streaks. Chicago had just one winning season with Cutler after that conference title game trip. After Mack’s first year, they didn’t have a winning record for six straight seasons. Many fans fear the team is in danger of walking down the same path despite the excitement of acquiring Jeffery Simmons.

However, there are two methods to avoid such a disaster. Methods other teams have successfully implemented.

Method #1 – The Chicago Bears must nail those 2nd-round picks

With no 1st-rounders available, that means the 2nd-round picks the Bears have remaining just became infinitely more important. They are really the only reasonable chance the team will have in the next two drafts to land a legitimate starter in the draft. As we all know, the odds in the 3rd round and beyond are beyond low. Part of the reason the two previous blockbuster swings for Jay Cutler and Khalil Mack proved so catastrophic is that Jerry Angelo and Ryan Pace badly mismanaged those 2nd-rounders.

You have to imagine that if the Bears had landed at least two of those listed players, it would’ve kept the team competitive in the long term. Instead, they got two busts and Melton, who was a solid player, but not a difference-maker.

Then you look at a team like Denver. They sent two 1sts to Seattle for quarterback Russell Wilson. That was a disaster. Yet somehow the Broncos remain a playoff contender. How? Nabbing Nik Bonitto and Marvin Mims in the 2nd round of those drafts was major. The problem is this method is difficult to pull off. Most teams that tried to follow the same path failed to yield even one good player from the 2nd round.

Method #2 – Stockpile extra picks

This method has a little more flexibility. The logic dictates that in the absence of quality picks (1st rounders), the best strategy to go for is quantity. That means stockpiling extra selections wherever you can. It can be done by trading away unnecessary players on your roster for mid- or late-round picks. You can move down in the draft to stockpile as well. There is also the use of the compensatory pick formula. No team has done that better than the Los Angeles Rams.

They famously gave up two 1st-round picks for Jalen Ramsey in 2019. That didn’t yield immediate results. So how did they survive? By finding ways to stack extra picks. Between 2019 and 2020, they received four compensatory picks and conducted three trades that netted them three additional picks.

Yet the Minnesota Vikings might’ve been even better at it.

Everyone remembers the fateful Herschel Walker trade, for they gave up three 1st-round picks and more for the Pro Bowl running back from Dallas. It was a disaster. By all rights, it should’ve tanked the franchise for a decade. Instead, they made the playoffs in 1992, 1993, and 1994. This was accomplished by holding 34 picks over the next three drafts. That allowed them to secure eventual Pro Bowlers like Terry Allen, Todd Scott, and Ed McDaniel. Not to mention Jake Reed.

The Chicago Bears failed to adhere to this less with both of their previous trades as well. They did accumulate 9 picks in the 2009 draft, but had only 5 the next year. That worked out to a normal 14. It was even worse the second time, as they had 5 picks in 2019 and 7 in 2020. That is 12, which is two below normal. So not only did they remove their two highest-quality picks via those trades, but they also narrowed their margin of error even further by trading away more picks.

Bears GM Ryan Poles has already shown an understanding of this issue.

He has extensive experience being in a front office operating without a 1st-round pick. Even better, he has experience using both methods listed above. As a personnel executive in Kansas City, he watched the Chiefs opt for the 2nd-round option because they had only 12 picks in 2018 and 2019 following the Patrick Mahomes trade. They had three 2nd-rounders in that stretch. Two became Pro Bowl returner Mecole Hardman, and the other was safety Juan Thornhill, a quality starter on two of their Super Bowl defenses.

Then, as GM of the Chicago Bears, Poles enacted the other method of stacking extra picks. With no 1st-round pick in 2022 because of the Justin Fields trade, he flipped Khalil Mack to Los Angeles for a 2nd, then made four separate trades to move down in the draft for an additional four selections. This helped him secure players like Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker, Braxton Jones, and Elijah Hicks. That was without the assistance of head coach Ben Johnson and his own sharp eye for talent. Don’t be surprised if Poles starts looking for ways to add more draft capital at some point between now and the draft.

Blockbuster trades always have some pretty crazy stories behind them. It merely takes time for the full details to come out. The Chicago Bears‘ acquisition of Jeffery Simmons was aided by a relationship between general manager Ryan Poles and Tennessee Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi that began 17 years ago as young assistants at Boston College. That connection and the trust that came with it are what helped lay the groundwork for the deal. It’s a very cool, if unoriginal story. However, it appears New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh decided to add even more drama to the experience.

Several months ago, the Giants traded star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for a 1st round pick. It appears the organization has been regretting that decision ever since. Lawrence is dominating in Cincinnati, while the Giants’ defense has struggled to keep opponents out of the end zone or stop the run. Harbaugh apparently saw a way out of that misfire by securing Simmons. Rather than let GM Joe Schoen do his thing by engaging the Titans on the idea, Harbaugh took it upon himself to force the issue, according to Jonathan Jones of The Athletic.

John Harbaugh called Tennessee’s owner directly.

On Monday night, Jeffery Simmons will make his debut with the Chicago Bears after the blockbuster deal that sent the star Tennessee Titans defensive tackle to Chicago in exchange for two first-round picks. But if John Harbaugh had his way, Simmons would be enjoying a bye week with the New York Giants right now.

Multiple sources tell The Athletic the Giants head coach called Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk directly in an attempt to trade for the All-Pro defensive tackle, breaking with traditional NFL trade-talk norms…

…General manager Joe Schoen had previously reached out to Titans GM Mike Borgonzi, who told Schoen and other inquiring teams that they wouldn’t trade Simmons.

Harbaugh then opted to call Strunk, the Titans’ controlling owner, in an attempt to get Simmons. Harbaugh got the same message from Strunk, who has empowered Borgonzi to make football decisions for the franchise.

One GM who became aware of the call said it violates a code amongst primary football decision-makers, that they will only deal with each other.

That is a pretty underhanded move.

The NFL, like any other professional sports league, is supposed to adhere to a certain way of doing business. The people in charge of football decisions speak with others who make football decisions and work out deals. It’s been that way since major sports became a thing. It is the most ethical way of doing business. The only times owners get involved are when they inject themselves directly. That is their prerogative. However, one thing you never do is try to pull them into negotiations. That is like complaining to Mom when Dad says no dessert after dinner. It’s highly disrespectful.

John Harbaugh has always been a fantastic coach. He hasn’t been around this long by accident. Still, the man does have a bit of a reputation for trying to circumvent rules. He held padded practices during non-padded minicamps in 2016 in clear violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. He’s exploited the NFL rulebook with intentional penalties to bleed the clock at the end of games. The man clearly lacks respect for the spirit of the game. Trying to go over the heads of the guys who told him no is the most blatant example yet.

In the end, justice won out.

Adam-Sistrunk recognized immediately what Harbaugh was trying to do and shut him down. Borgonzi, intentionally or not, decided to make Harbaugh’s life even harder by sending Simmons to another NFC contender. Sometimes the football gods don’t reward you for bad behavior. There would be no rescuing the Giants from their bad decision to trade Lawrence. Tennessee at least had good reasons to deal Simmons. The offer was fair and would help kickstart a badly needed rebuild.

Harbaugh thought he could live without Lawrence, quickly realized he couldn’t, and tried to undo his mistake. Knowing his team’s grip on the NFC East is tenuous at best, he decided the rules don’t apply to him and tried to exploit his relationship with another team’s owner. Now his team has no Simmons, and his tactics are out in the open, leaving his reputation tarnished.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles did something no one ever has before. He became the first in league history to trade two 1st round pick for a defensive tackle. Up to this point, it’s only happened for edge rushers like Micah Parsons and Khalil Mack. Jeffery Simmons was the first of his position to break through. It has many wondering if Poles made a bad miscalculation. If nobody has ever done this before, it has to be a bad move, right? Not based on what Jim Schwartz thinks.

The longtime defensive coordinator and Super Bowl champion believes that defensive tackles are the most important position on that side of the ball. His reasoning came in multiple parts. For one, it’s harder to double-team them, and by simple geography, they’re closer to the quarterback. While edge rushers are highly important, they’re also easier to scheme around with tight end chips and sliding interior guys outside to help. With defensive tackles, the only way to help is by sliding the center to them. That leaves everybody else one-on-one. Schwartz explained this to Daniel Jeremiah on ESPN.

Ryan Poles understands that same lesson.

For one, people forget that he is a former guard. He understands how disruptive defensive tackles can be if you can’t block them consistently. Matt Ryan didn’t have many bad games in college, but when he did, it was often because opposing defensive tackles squeezed the pocket on him. You saw it with Calaise Campbell in 2006. Then Poles saw the same thing happen in Kansas City with Chris Jones, who carried the Chiefs’ defense to three Super Bowl titles. The GM stated his reasoning was pretty clear.

You don’t win a championship these days without at least a good one.

“If you do the research, Super Bowl teams, probably going back to 2018, since then, they all have what we call a red-level interior defensive lineman. So in order to get to there, you need one. I really believe that. We’ve been searching. With the draft, again we go best available. Sometimes the draft doesn’t provide that to you. I know free agency really doesn’t do that at that level. It’s very hard for gets to get out of the building when they have all those things that we’re talking about. So we’ve been searching. It was an opportunity we had to jump on.”

He actually undersold it.

If you go back to 2000, there have been 15 teams to hoist the Lombardi Trophy that had at least one defensive tackle who was a Pro Bowler. Keep in mind, the list below doesn’t include names like B.J. Raji in 2010 and Ndamukong Suh in 2020. Both were very good in those respective seasons.

So it’s possible Ryan Poles was ahead of everybody else when he threw down the chips to get Simmons. There is no question that the 29-year-old is in the same tier as Jones, Cox, and Seymour. A dominant force that requires constant double teams. The last time the Bears had anything close to that was prime Tommie Harris in 2005 and 2006. Everybody remembers how great he made those defenses.

Remember, the Bears don’t need an all-time great unit to win a title. They just need one that can disrupt the line of scrimmage often enough to hinder the opponent from scoring 21 points. This team’s offense is strong enough to beat anybody under those conditions. The Bears are 9-3 in such games. One was a game Caleb Williams didn’t finish, and another was one he didn’t play.

The Chicago Bears made adjustments to their push for a new stadium over the past month. Team president Kevin Warren was benched, while longtime part-owner Pat Ryan has stepped in to take over negotiations with the state of Illinois. Almost immediately, there has been serious progress. Enough that many feel a deal could be struck during the fall legislative session in Springfield next month. Lost amidst this sudden shift in fortunes is the unusual report that Ryan was joined by none other than NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

This is somewhat puzzling. While Goodell likes to keep himself apprised of stadium matters across all NFL teams, this might be the first time he’s ever stepped in personally. Most assume it’s merely because the process is taking too long and he wants to help speed things up. Yet that alone doesn’t feel like enough of an incentive to take direct action. Dan Bernstein of 312 Sports believes he’s found the real reasons.

According to what he’s hearing, the league wants the Bears to stay in Illinois. It hopes to begin construction of the stadium in Arlington Heights and complete it by 2031. Why? The endgame is for Chicago to host its first-ever Super Bowl by 2033.

The Chicago Bears offer the NFL a pathway to more money.

One forgotten fact about the Super Bowl is that it really can’t be played in most of the country’s largest markets. Both New York and Chicago feature outdoor stadiums, which are inhospitable in February. That is why the league is forced to rely more on places like Los Angeles, Phoenix, and New Orleans. However, that changes once the Bears build their new stadium. It would be a domed complex, meaning weather wouldn’t be a factor. The city itself is already a popular tourist destination, which is sure to bring in plenty of revenue.

There is also the desire to showcase state-of-the-art stadiums. Teams often install several luxury suites, which cost a pretty penny and are meant to draw wealthier fans to the game. The league would love opportunities to branch out from the usual rotation of stadiums to someplace new. Bringing a Super Bowl to Chicago, one of the founding cities of football, would be a great selling point. People would love to attend just to say they were the first to see the big game in the Windy City.

There is one wrinkle worth noting.

How much will the city itself try to hijack the situation? If the legislation follows the blueprint from the spring, it means municipalities with 70,000 people or more will be allowed to pitch the Chicago Bears on building their stadium there. It’s well known that power brokers in the city have been making pitches to keep the team downtown. The latest is an idea of building it where Guaranteed Rate Field currently sits. The White Sox plan on moving to the South Loop. It opens up an opportunity to refresh that land into something new.

Ultimately, it comes down to whatever gets the stadium built faster. The NFL wants to get things moving right now. It wouldn’t be shocking if they leaned on Bears owner George McCaskey to remove Warren from negotiations and allow the far more experienced Ryan to take over. It certainly had the desired effect. Based on how things are going, a deal could happen by the end of November.