Jeffery Simmons Bears Trade NFL Trade Deadline NFL Trade Rumors
Getty
Bears head coach Ben Johnson.
The Chicago Bears have the worst run defense in the league through the first four weeks of the 2025 season. Could that push them to go “all-in” and make a blockbuster deal to improve their trenches before the NFL trade deadline?
Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated’s Gilberto Manzano laid out trade proposals he believes every team in the NFC should consider making before the league deadline on November 4, predicting the Bears acquire Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons for a 2026 second-round pick.
Simmons has two sacks and five tackles for loss in his first four games of the season and is one of the driving forces of Tennessee’s defensive front, but the Titans have skidded to an 0-4 start with reasons aplenty for their failures, including poor play off the edges.
Coaching has also been a major issue, so much so that Brian Callahan is considered the odds-on favorite to be the next NFL head coach fired in most prominent sportsbooks.
That’s rebuild territory, and if the Titans should keep losing in the weeks ahead and turn their attention to the future — where they can start building around quarterback Cam Ward — then perhaps they would start shopping the 28-year-old Simmons.
The Bears are all in with Caleb Williams and coach Ben Johnson,” Manzano wrote. “There’s no turning back, so they might as well make a splash move like this one.
“The arrival of Simmons would immediately improve the Bears’ defense, which needs pass rushers and run stoppers. Simmons excels in both areas and could form a dominant duo with edge rusher Montez Sweat. For years, the Bears’ defense has done the heavy lifting. Now that the offense is showing signs of improvement, the defense has regressed. Simmons can help balance out Chicago’s problems this season.”
Can Bears Even Afford Trade for Jeffery Simmons?
When it comes to the Bears potentially making a trade for Simmons, it is not a question of his talent. The three-time Pro Bowler is violently efficient as both a run-stopper and a pass rusher and could, as Manzano argued, improve the others around him in Chicago.
Through 4 weeks, #Titans IDL Jeffery Simmons looks by far the best he ever has when rushing the passer. Almost every part of Tennessee's roster is a dumpster fire, but Simmons has continued to develop into one of the best interior rushers in football pic.twitter.com/VxIPOTxwf4
— Drew Beatty (@IronCityFilm) September 30, 2025
The question, unfortunately, is about cost: Can the Bears even afford Simmons?
While Simmons would instantly improve Chicago’s defensive interior, the Bears do not have the salary-cap space to fit his expensive contract on their books, in part because they already invested serious money in defensive linemen who are underperforming.
According to Over the Cap, the Bears have roughly $8.26 million in cap space available for the rest of the 2025 season. Even if they talked the Titans into eating some of the cost to make him affordable for this year’s roster, they would be looking at cap charges of about $25.68 million in 2026 and $28.51 million in 2027, when he will turn 30.
Now, Simmons is worth the money, but the Bears cannot justify an expenditure of his caliber when they already are due to pay out an average of $54.75 million in each of the next three seasons to three of their current defensive linemen, including Sweat ($24.5 million annually), Dayo Odeyingbo ($16 million) and Grady Jarrett ($14.25 million).
The Bears could still make a trade to improve their defensive line, but it won’t be for Simmons — even if the Titans start shouting his availability from the mountaintops.
Next Few Games Could Dictate Bears’ Trade Activity
The vibes are improving for the Bears after a flat 0-2 start to the season, but it is unclear at this stage just how involved they will be at the NFL trade deadline — if involved at all.
The Bears rallied for two consecutive wins before heading into Week 5’s early bye week, recapturing the preseason optimism about quarterback Caleb Williams, new head coach Ben Johnson and the team’s ability to compete for a spot in the NFL playoffs. If they emerge from the bye and continue winning, they could become buyers at the deadline and explore ways to significantly improve their roster for the second half of the year.
To keep their momentum going, however, the Bears must strike down the Washington Commanders on Monday Night Football in Week 6 — a matchup that presents eerie similarities to the one between the teams last year, after which the Bears collapsed. If they fail again, the Bears may decide it is not prudent to give up future draft assets.
Either way, the Bears have their needs. An edge rusher or defensive tackle could make sense for the right price, perhaps one on a rookie contract who the Bears believe can offer them something more than what they are getting from their current personnel. They may also explore their options for adding another viable rusher to their backfield.
The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, November 4.