How Super Bowl winners drove Chicago Bears’ Jeffery Simmons trade

The Chicago Bears traded for Jeffery Simmons because they believe they’re ready to compete for a Super Bowl title. General manager Ryan Poles wouldn’t have traded away two first-round picks otherwise.

At 5-2, the Bears already looked like a strong contender. Led by head coach Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, Chicago’s offense has become one of the best in the league. Still, it was clear the defense needed some extra help.

Simmons is known for his ability to create havoc in the backfield. Because of that, it’ll be more difficult for opposing quarterbacks to get into a rhythm. The Bears have had plenty of miscues in the secondary throughout their campaign. Chicago’s thought process is that Simmons’ presence will make things easier on their cornerback room.

The idea of trading for Simmons has always been appealing to Poles. But when looking at recent Super Bowl winners, the general manager’s vision became clearer.

Chicago Bears value defensive tackle dominance

When thinking of Super Bowl champions, it may be easier to conjure up ideas of an explosive offensive performance. But to Poles, winners are born in the trenches. Seeing so many Super Bowl champions having a high level defensive tackle further emphasized Poles’ belief that he needed to make a deal, via the general manager’s Friday press conference, h/t Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team.

“If you do the research, Super Bowl teams going back to 2018, they all have a red level interior defensive lineman. In order to get there, you really need one. I really believe that,” Poles said. “We’ve been searching. Sometimes when you go best available, sometimes the draft provide that to you. Free agency doesn’t really do that at that level. It’s hard for guys to get out of the building when they have all those things we’re talking about. It was an opportunity we had to jump on.”

#Bears GM Ryan Poles, on trading for Jeffery Simmons, says that going back to 2018, every Super Bowl champion has had a high-level DT—and believes that’s vital for a team that wants to win it all.

(Fletcher Cox, Aaron Donald, Chris Jones, Vita Vea, Jalen Carter, Leonard… pic.twitter.com/YcemCFooSl

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 30, 2026

The Bears’ intentions are clear. Chicago had a clear vision for their roster and have what they believe it’s an elite roster. Now, it’s just up to Simmons and his new teammates to live up to the hype.

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