Did Bears overpay for Jeffery Simmons? What recent DL trades from Cowboys, Rams, Packers might teach

In the short term, the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions should shudder.

Kyler Murray, Jordan Love and Jared Goff’s lives just got harder.

Offensive success against the Chicago Bears won’t come as easily after Thursday morning. Good luck to the NFC North quarterbacks.

The Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans agreed to a trade for All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, according to multiple reports. The Bears sent their 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick and 2027 fourth-round pick to Tennessee in exchange for Simmons and the Titans’ 2028 fifth, per the Titans.

Simmons immediately upgrades a managing-but-inefficient defense. Through seven games in Tennessee this year, he registered four sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery, 13 pressures, nine quarterback hits and 38 tackles. No defensive tackle has won his pass-rush reps more than Simmons’ 27% clip, per ESPN’s pass-rush win rate metric. Simmons was that efficient even as he played volume snaps, pass-rushing 124 times in seven games while facing double teams on 84% of snaps, per ESPN.

The Bears’ top player on that list before Thursday was Grady Jarrett, who ranked 18th with a 16% win rate.

So no one’s doubting that the Bears are better now, better this season and better in 2027 as they acquire Simmons. But initial reaction from executives, talent evaluators and coaches across the league questioned the price the Bears paid to poach Simmons.

"Great trade value-wise [for Tennessee] long term," one AFC assistant coach told Yahoo Sports. 

An NFC executive deemed the price "a lot" when an executive from a second AFC team said they congratulated Titans counterparts on the return.

What would executives and evaluators from other teams pay for Simmons? 

One NFC executive valued Simmons as worth a first- and a second-round pick. An AFC executive said Simmons is indeed "very, very good" and thus would warrant "maybe a one and change." An executive from another NFC team noted value differs based on a team’s current needs at the position, but for the Bears, they’d consider a 2027 first and 2028 third worth acquiring him. (Teams differ on whether they view the value of picks consistent across years or whether they discount the value of a later-year pick due to the limited ability to gain value from the asset in the interim.)

So will trading two firsts and change prove worthwhile for the Bears? A look at recent blockbuster defensive line trades call that into question.

How Micah Parsons, Myles Garrett, Quinnen Williams have impacted their teams so far

There is always the risk of injury for any player acquisition. Teams calculate cost-benefit analyses by the player, often considering past injuries and age as the top predictor of future injuries.

So the Green Bay Packers’ 2025 trade for Micah Parsons and the Los Angeles Rams’ 2026 trade for Myles Garrett are so far more unlucky than they were reckless. But each can serve as a cautionary tale.

The Packers sent their 2026 first-round pick, 2027 first-round pick and defensive tackle Kenny Clark to the Dallas Cowboys in August 2025 in exchange for Parsons, who had earned four Pro Bowl berths and two first-team All-Pro nods in his four Dallas years. Parsons was productive in 14 games last season, collecting 12.5 sacks, 41 tackles and two forced fumbles. Then he tore his ACL on Dec. 14. He has yet to return to practice.

The Rams sent a 2027 first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick, 2029 third-round pick and edge rusher Jared Verse to the Cleveland Browns on June 1 in exchange for Garrett, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Garrett played 40 snaps in their season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers but clearly was not himself. The Rams explained later that swelling in Garrett’s knee was too intense to play through productively, and he would require surgery. Seven weeks later, Garrett has yet to return to practice.

Does that mean each trade is destined to be a bust? No. But the losses incurred while Parsons and Garrett have been sidelined impact not only the value of the payday their teams are contributing but also the value of the draft picks sent away. The Rams expected their 2027 first-round pick would be in the late 20s at the highest and hoped it was pick 32. They surprised the league by selecting quarterback Ty Simpson in the 2026 first round in part because they didn’t anticipate a 2027 first being within range of a quarterback. Eleven weeks remain in the regular season. But the Rams currently sit at 3-4, which means the Browns are projected for the 14th overall pick, per Tankathon.com. At 4-3, the Packers’ 2027 first currently pegs the Cowboys to select 20th.

"It’s hard to bank that far out in advance," an NFC executive said of teams hoping their traded-away firsts will arrive late in the round.

The Cowboys’ trade-deadline acquisition of Quinnen Williams a year ago in some ways has proven even less successful. Williams has provided defensive leadership and stayed healthy. But the Cowboys’ defense has struggled even with him on the field.

Sure, they’re better with him: Since the beginning of 2025, the Cowboys’ defense has allowed 356.9 total yards per game with Williams compared to 402.9 without him, per TruMedia Sports. He’s helped them down from 143.9 to 122.5 rushing yards per game, 259 to 234.4 passing yards (he has not been the only variable during the that period). But even at 376 yards per game, the Cowboys rank second-worst in the league in yards allowed across 2025-2026, and they’re third worst this year alone. The Cowboys have allowed more points this season than all but the New Orleans Saints, Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals — rebuilding teams. Across the two seasons, only the Cardinals are leakier.

Will Simmons buck the recent trends and meaningfully improve the Bears?

"He’s a really good player," an NFC executive said. "Definitely makes them better immediately."

Why elite DTs like Simmons ‘disarm’ offenses in a way edge rushers don’t

The reality: If the Bears win the Super Bowl, advance to the Super Bowl or perhaps even advance to a conference championship with a heavily contributing Simmons, no one will care about the future picks that may or may not have panned out.

Another reality: Even when considering the recent heavy-hitting defensive line trades, this move remains unprecedented. Simmons is the first defensive tackle in the common draft era (since 1967) to be traded for multiple first-round picks, per ESPN Research.

If healthy, he can help the 5-2 Bears catch 6-0 Minnesota. He can help a defense that has benefited greatly from staying off the field (the Bears lead the league with a 35:30 average time of possession) while

Source: sports.yahoo.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.