Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles worked with former Kansas City Chiefs front office teammate Mike Borgonzi to make the Jeffery Simmons trade a reality.
From NFL insider Jordan Schultz:
Having checked in with the Titans several times over the last couple weeks, the message was he’s not available. But this is a reminder, as one team said: “Everyone has a price.”
The reality is that these two GMs — Mike Borgonzi and Ryan Poles — know each other from their days together in Kansas City.
The Bears, according to multiple sources, made a push for DeForest Buckner as well, but didn’t feel comfortable with the draft capital Indy wanted.
Instead, they then pivoted to arguably the best DT in football in Simmons, with the feeling that he changes the entire complexion of the defense and makes them a bona fide Super Bowl threat.
After hearing from as many as 3 other teams inquiring on Simmons, the Titans simply felt that Chicago’s offer had reached a price where “we could not say no anymore.”
That’s when this thing became serious, and that’s why it happened so quickly.
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So that pretty much answers why Poles didn’t push harder to trade for Buckner. As it turns out, Poles did indeed try to trade for Buckner, and deemed the draft capital Indianapolis wanted for Buckner (which ended up being a 2027 fourth-round pick) was too much for the player they would be acquiring, a veteran on an expiring deal.
Plus, as Luis shared in Wednesday’s BN Bears Bullets, San Francisco was Buckner’s preferred destination. Like the Bears, the Niners are an NFC contender. But given his history with the team that took him in the first round of the 2016 NFL Draft, you can understand why he might have wanted to go back.
In any case, when Poles decided Buckner wasn’t the play, he stayed aggressive in pursuing an upgrade at Chicago’s defensive line. He dialed up his old colleague Borgonzi about his prized defensive tackle, Jeffery Simmons.
More from Titans GM Mike Borgonzi:
An emotional general manager of the Tennessee Titans Mike Borgonzi on trading JEFFEREY SIMMONS to the #Bears pic.twitter.com/dbGav4qwfo
— Aldo Gandia (@BearsBarroomHQ) October 29, 2026The explanation from Borgonzi of how we got here is fascinating:
“These are tough decisions. And, you know, at no point anytime since I’ve been here did we ever try to trade Jeffery Simmons. We’ve got a lot of phone calls on Jeff, really since I’ve been hired here. But it’s never really crossed my mind.
I got a phone call late last night from a person I’ve known for a while, Ryan Poles, he’s the GM of the Bears. He’s really the only person that came out and said ‘Would you accept this?’ You have to take in all the information at that point. I had a conversation with Coach Saleh last night, discussed it, discussed where we’re at as a roster, as a team, and like I said, these decisions are never easy.”
It sounds like there were a lot of moving pieces before this deal went down, with the Bears GM showing a level of aggressiveness and willingness to push for a deal.
New Bears trade acquisition Jeffery Simmons should fortify the interior of the defensive line. © Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORKWhen the Colts dealt Quenton Nelson to the Seahawks, and then Buckner to the 49ers on Tuesday, two NFC contenders made notable upgrades to their offensive and defensive line, and the Bears needed to do the same. They not only matched the Seahawks and 49ers moves; they dwarfed them, landing arguably the league’s best defensive tackle and a player who will elevate their pass rush this season and for the foreseeable future.
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