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Jeffery Simmons was stunned by blockbuster Bears trade: ‘Didn’t want to leave’

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Cite

Lemoncelli, J. (2026, October 29). Jeffery Simmons was stunned by blockbuster Bears trade: ‘Didn’t want to leave’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/29/sports/jeffery-simmons-was-stunned-by-blockbuster-bears-trade/

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-29 · by Jenna Lemoncelli

Quick Summary

Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi revealed that All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons was shocked and did not want to leave when he was traded to the Chicago Bears in a major deal. The trade, which occurred on Thursday, sent Simmons to the Bears for two first-round picks in 2027 and 2028, plus a fourth-round pick in 2027 from Chicago. Borgonzi admitted that trading Simmons, who has spent his entire NFL career with Tennessee since being drafted in 2019, never crossed his mind until Bears GM Ryan Poles made an offer too good to refuse.
Written by AI on 2026-10-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

As of October 29, 2026, the Chicago Bears acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons in a significant trade from the Tennessee Titans. The Bears sent their first-round picks in both 2027 and 2028, plus a fourth-round pick next year, to the Titans for Simmons and a fifth-round selection in 2028. This move comes as Chicago has won two consecutive games under quarterback Caleb Williams, improving their record to 5-2 and positioning them to challenge the undefeated Minnesota Vikings in the NFC North. The trade signals the Bears' intent to compete for their first Super Bowl title since 1985, with coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles believing this bolstered defense can secure a playoff victory. Titans GM Mike Borgonzi confirmed that Simmons did not want to leave Nashville but acknowledged the opportunity presented by joining a contending team in Chicago.

Written for “Bears Trade for Jeffery Simmons” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 115811 · logged 2026-10-30

Story

📰 Bears Trade for Jeffery Simmons
Sports · 4 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 21 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Guardian
Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 67/100
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 22 claims Outlet record 70/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
4
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15085 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jenna Lemoncelli
70 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Saleh explained that “everything about [trading Simmons] sucks,” but the Titans couldn’t say “no” to such an offer from Chicago.
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Also by Jenna Lemoncelli
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 70 articles by Jenna Lemoncelli →

Topics

Bears Chicago Tennessee Titans a Super Bowl

Subjects

Simmons PERSON · 8× Titans ORG · 5× Bears ORG · 4× Borgonzi PERSON · 4× Saleh PERSON · 3× Jeff PERSON · 2× Ryan Poles PERSON · 2× Tennessee ORG · 2× Jeffery Simmons PERSON · 1× Mike Borgonzi PERSON · 1×

Narrative

The Titans (1-6) — now in a rebuild under first-year head coach Robert Saleh — are receiving 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, plus a 2027 fourth-round pick, from the Bears (5-2) for Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-30
🔮 Saleh explained that “everything about [trading Simmons] sucks,” but the Titans couldn’t say “no” to such an offer from Chicago.

Claims (21 extracted, 2 hedged)

Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons didn’t want to leave when the team traded him to the Bears in a stunning blockbuster on Thursday. asserted
team → say → Thursday
While speaking to reporters, Borgonzi explained some of his “really hard” conversation with Simmons informing him of the trade. asserted
Borgonzi → speak → trade
I don’t think Jeff wanted to leave here,” Borgonzi said. asserted
Borgonzi → think → ?
“I thanked him for everything he’s done here and, you know, on and off the field. asserted
you → thank → field
It’s a really hard conversation. asserted
It → ’ → ?
“I think it’s also a great opportunity for him, as I told him, to go someplace here and have an opportunity to compete now for a Super Bowl.” asserted
I → think → Bowl
The Titans (1-6) — now in a rebuild under first-year head coach Robert Saleh — are receiving 2027 and 2028 first-round picks, plus a 2027 fourth-round pick, from the Bears (5-2) for Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick. asserted
Titans → receive → Simmons
Borgonzi explained that the thought of trading 29-year-old Simmons “never really crossed my mind” until he received a call late Wednesday night from Bears general manager Ryan Poles. asserted
he → explain → Poles
He then discussed the situation with Saleh and team owner Amy Adams-Strunk, and they agreed to move forward with the trade. asserted
they → discuss → trade
“At no point anytime since I’ve been here did we ever try to trade Jeffrey Simmons,” Borgonzi said. asserted
Borgonzi → try → Simmons
“We’ve gotten a lot of phone calls on Jeff, really since I’ve been hired here [in January 2025], but it’s never really crossed my mind. asserted
it → get → mind
And I got a phone call late last night from a person that I’ve known for a while, Ryan Poles … asserted
I → get → while
We considered the compensation, and it was too good to pass up.” asserted
it → consider → compensation
Saleh explained that “everything about [trading Simmons] sucks,” but the Titans couldn’t say “no” to such an offer from Chicago. asserted
Titans → explain → Chicago
“I told our guys, when you don’t close out games and you’re standing here at 1-6 teams are going to start fishing,” Saleh said Thursday. asserted
Saleh → tell → 1
“And eventually a team threw a hook big enough that I don’t think any of us could have said no to.” uncertain
any → throw → us
Simmons has spent his entire NFL career with the Titans after Tennessee selected him with the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. asserted
Tennessee → spend → draft
Just Wednesday, Simmons told reporters that he wanted to be in Tennessee, adding that he didn’t hear anything from his agents or the team about a trade. asserted
he → tell → trade
Simmons signed a three-year, $105 million contract extension with the Titans in June that keeps him under contract through 2029. asserted
that → sign → 2029
He had a career-best 11 sacks last season and was named a first-team All-Pro. Simmons has 46.5 sacks, 72 tackles for loss and 96 quarterback hits over his career. asserted
Simmons → name → career
He could make his debut when the Bears play the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks (4-3) on “Monday Night Football.” uncertain
Bears → make → Football
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