Titans Trade Simmons to Bears for Pair of First-Round Picks

NASHVILLE, Tenn. The Tennessee Titans agreed Thursday to send defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears for a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 first-round pick and a 2027 fourth-round pick, according to ESPN Research. No defensive tackle has ever brought back two first-round selections in the common draft era, which dates to 1967.

General manager Mike Borgonzi said he took calls on Simmons when he arrived in the role in 2024 and never engaged. Chicago's Ryan Poles called late Wednesday. The two worked together in the Kansas City Chiefs' personnel department from 2009 to 2021. "We considered the compensation, and it was too good to pass up," Borgonzi said Thursday. He then spoke with coach Robert Saleh, who had described Simmons as the best defensive tackle in football.

Borgonzi and Saleh spoke into Wednesday night, then sought signoff from controlling owner Amy Adams-Strunk. She watched Tennessee draft Simmons out of Mississippi State at No. 19 in 2019. Borgonzi said he got ownership to buy in after reviewing a roster that sat at 1-6. "It's an opportunity for the organization to get an influx of talent to accelerate the rebuild," Saleh said. Borgonzi added, "I just appreciate Amy [Adams-Strunk] because she empowers us to make decisions."

The move caught Simmons off guard. He told reporters Wednesday that neither his agent nor the team had told him a trade was in motion. He is 29 and had said he wanted to stay in Nashville. Titans right tackle JC Latham said Thursday that the look on Simmons' face when the news landed made clear he was disappointed. Borgonzi signed Simmons in June to a three-year, $105 million deal and called him a "pillar of the franchise that embodies what it means to be a Titan."

Simmons leads the team with four sacks, six tackles for a loss and four passes defended. He has drawn 101 double teams over the first seven games, second among defensive tackles across the league. His absence removes a player the Titans used to free up edge rushers for one-on-one work. "There's just going to be opportunities for more guys in that D-line room," Saleh said. "We're looking forward to seeing who comes out of it shining."

John Franklin-Myers signed with Tennessee in part to pair with Simmons. Back and groin injuries kept him from playing alongside him at full strength. "It's the business, so you gotta roll with the punches," Franklin-Myers said. "All I can do is just continue to do my job for this team."

Tennessee has cycled through a coach or general manager each season since 2022, which leaves open whether Borgonzo and Saleh will hold the picks they just acquired. "She's entrusted us to be able to develop this roster and get it out of the basement at which it's been sitting for the last four and a half years," Saleh said of Adams-Strunk. The Titans face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.