Chicago Bears’ Ryan Poles named firm trade deadline winner

The Chicago Bears may have been quiet during the actual NFL trade deadline day. However, they already landed their white whale in a blockbuster deal with the Tennessee Titans.

For two first-round picks and a fourth, the Bears acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. In his first two games with the franchise, Simmons has made 10 tackles with two quarterback hits, sacks and passes defended. The defensive tackle’s presence has been immediately felt. He’ll now be the heartbeat of Chicago’s defense through what the franchise hopes is a lengthy playoff run.

Outside of his play on the field, Simmons’ trade value was so high due to his contract. The Bears have him under team control through the 2030 season. General manager Ryan Poles was willing to pay so much knowing the Bears will have a game-wrecker in the middle of their line for the foreseeable future.

Now that the trade deadline has passed, fans and analysts are reflecting on every deal went down. With the dust settling, Poles’ decision looks even stronger.

Ryan Poles sets Chicago Bears up for success 

The Jacksonville Jaguars share the Bears’ mentality in terms of going all-in for a Super Bowl. They traded a 2027 first-round and 2029 second-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for defensive tackle Jordan Davis. Davis is widely respected across the league and provides elite run stopping ability. But he isn’t in the same echelon as Simmons. Which is why Ben Solak of ESPN considers Poles an even bigger winner post-trade deadline.

“It’s important to evaluate trades in a vacuum, and two firsts for Simmons was a steep price no matter which way you slice it,” Solak wrote. “But it does bear saying: That trade looks so much less expensive when you see the price the Jaguars paid for Davis, a player who simply (1) does not play as many snaps as Simmons, (2) does not play as many high-value snaps as Simmons does, (3) is not as productive as Simmons on the snaps that they play and (4) has not produced as consistently as Simmons has.”

“The Bears’ GM moved all-in for a defensive tackle just like James Gladstone and the Jaguars did,” he continued. “The playoffs will decide how history views these trades. But the Bears sure got a lot of cover this week, and that’s never a bad thing.”

Ultimately, where both the Jaguars and Bears’ first-round picks in the 2027 NFL Draft fall will show who “won” their trades. Both teams are expecting to make deep playoff runs. If so, they’ll be picking 20+, which makes Davis or Simmons even more valuable.

Perhaps Jaguars vs. Bears – which will happen in Week 13 – will be a Super Bowl preview. Then, and in every game he plays in moving forward, Simmons will try to prove even further why the Bears made the right decision.

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