The Tennessee Titans traded star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears ahead of the trade deadline, landing their next two first-round picks and a 2027 fourth-round pick in return for Simmons and a 2028 5th.

It’s a franchise-altering move for a team sitting at 1-6. As I’ve said over the past couple of days, trading Simmons makes more sense right now than it ever has. That’s why I’m surprised by this Titans trade, but not shocked.

My initial reaction: fantastic work by Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi. My grade for the Jeffery Simmons trade is an A- today, with  a ceiling of A+ by the end of the year. Not all first-round picks are made equal, and Chicago’s playoff fate over the next two seasons will decide where this one lands.

Why the Jeffery Simmons trade makes sense for the Titans now

Tying Tennessee to Simmons long-term made sense when there was hope this season would be the Cam Ward rocket ship launch. We’ve seen how teams handle this. You push your chips in once your young quarterback shows he’s about to take off, à la C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels early in their careers. You try to maximize the rookie window. Simmons, by all accounts the best defensive tackle in football, could have been part of that for the next two, three, or four years.

But the timelines are no longer in sync. The Titans’ path to relevance is entirely in flux. So far, cam Ward has been a failure to launch. The rocket ship hasn’t exploded, but it’s still firmly on the platform. Nobody knows whether he turns the tide over the final 10 games or whether the Titans will be in the market for another quarterback in the draft (or a veteran to compete with him). All of those options are on the table. Simmons’ prime simply doesn’t line up with Tennessee’s likely competitive window anymore.

In a vacuum, this is a textbook example of when to trade this kind of asset. Simmons will never be more valuable than he is right now. He’s cost-controlled on a new contract, which gives the acquiring team roster control. And his timeline doesn’t match yours. That’s exactly when you sell.

More importantly, the package gives Tennessee flexibility. Add Chicago’s picks to its own, and Tennessee has four first-round picks over the next two drafts. That’s ammunition to take a new swing at quarterback, or to put together a package for one already in the league. Borgonzi has set the Titans up to pivot on the Cam Ward question however they need to.

The part of this deal that goes beyond the spreadsheet

The reason I’m still surprised is that there’s so much more to this than an on-paper team-building exercise. Once you leave the thought experiment, reality sets in: Tennessee has to sell their team! Somebody has to go on the banner outside the new stadium. That matters to ownership, the business side, and everybody in the building, even the people focused purely on football.

It’s a lot like the conversation around the Colts and Jonathan Taylor right now. Indianapolis’ ownership doesn’t want to move him because it still has to put fans in seats for the rest of the season. The Titans face a version of that, though it’s a little different. Simmons is a defensive tackle, not the only offensive face left on the roster.

There’s also a locker room power vacuum element to this. This is a new coaching staff with a team floundering at 1-6, and this move sends a gigantic message to the locker room about the rest of the season. Simmons has a great relationship with Ward, and he has been the voice of the defense. When there are games that the defense likely feels a certain way about the offense, Simmons won’t be there to be the guardian at the gate any longer.

That’s why I commend Borgonzi not just for getting the deal done, but for convincing ownership and the powers that be that this was the right move. As GM, he ultimately makes the call. Still, getting everyone on board for a decision this big takes a sober read of where the franchise stands.

Why the Bears can live with the price, and what Titans fans should root for

Shortly after the news broke, a coach elsewhere in the league texted me what I think is a fair assessment.

“That’s a steep price that Chicago paid—But you can’t find guys like Jeff.”

Chicago was expected to be the most aggressive NFC North team at the deadline, so this fits. Last year, Indianapolis traded two firsts for Sauce Gardner. The Bears can look at that and say a cornerback cost two firsts, so two firsts and a fourth for Simmons doesn’t feel like a wild overpay. I’m not sure I’d call it a bargain, though. Age plays a role here too. Simmons is 29, and if he were 26, the price would have been higher.

Which brings me back to the grade. If Bears coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams reach a Super Bowl one year and an NFC Championship Game the other (which is entirely possible), those picks land somewhere around 28th to 32nd. In that case, it’s an A- for me.

Here’s the way-too-early best-case (plausible) scenario for Titans fans: Chicago earns the No. 2 seed and hosts a healthy, angry, No. 7 seed Rams team in the wild card round. Davante Adams is back,Myles Garrett is back, Puka is healthy, Stafford is balling, the Rams have finally peaked as the super team we thought they could be, and it’s the worst possible draw for the Bears. Chicago loses. If that happens and these picks land somewhere in the low 20s, this trade becomes an A+.

Either way, the Titans can be happy with this deal. Simmons was never going to be more valuable, and the timelines no longer matched.