Two of Mississippi State’s defensive standouts are back together again, this time in Chicago.
The Tennessee Titans have agreed to trade All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons to the Bears in a blockbuster deal that reportedly includes two first-round draft picks, setting up a reunion with former Bulldogs teammate Montez Sweat. The move was announced Thursday, October 29, and comes before the NFL’s November 10 trade deadline.
For Mississippi State fans, that’s the part that jumps off the page. Sweat and Simmons once formed one of the most intimidating defensive line pairings in college football, and now they’ll try to do it again at the pro level with the Bears.
Their time together in Starkville laid the groundwork for both players’ NFL success. Sweat broke out as one of the country’s top edge rushers during the 2018 season, when he earned first-team All-American honors from multiple outlets. Over his Mississippi State career, he piled up 22 sacks and 29.5 tackles for loss in 26 games.
Simmons was just as disruptive on the inside. In 2018, he was a first-team All-SEC selection and finished his Bulldogs career with 163 tackles, 32.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 38 games. His mix of power, burst and backfield production made him a nightmare for opposing offensive lines.
Together, they helped Mississippi State build one of the nation’s best defensive fronts during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. That success is part of why this Bears pairing carries so much intrigue now.
Chicago is clearly betting big on the moment. The Bears enter the deal at 5-2 and in second place in the NFC North, and the front office is acting like a team that believes a deep postseason run is there to be chased. The Bears haven’t been to the Super Bowl since the 2006 season, and they haven’t won a championship since the 1985 team claimed the Lombardi Trophy.
Simmons gives them another force up front alongside Sweat. Sweat can attack from the edge, while Simmons brings the kind of interior disruption that can wreck a pocket from the middle. Put those two together, and Chicago suddenly has a defensive line built to make quarterbacks uncomfortable.
The price tag tells the story too. Two first-round picks is a heavy lift, but it shows how aggressively the Bears are pushing toward contention. Simmons was one of Tennessee’s most important players, so the Titans are losing a major piece even as they add future draft capital to help reshape the roster.
For Mississippi State supporters, though, the headline is simple: Sweat and Simmons are teammates again. They used to do damage in the SEC. Now they’ll try to do it on one of football’s biggest stages.
In Other News...
Jeffery Simmons Just Landed In A Massive Mississippi State NFL Spotlight
Jeffery Simmons is suddenly at the center of one of the biggest NFL moves involving a former Mississippi State star, with Tennessee sending the standout defensive tackle and a 2028 fifth-round pick to Chicago for a package built around 2027 and 2028 first-rounders plus a 2027 fourth-round pick. Simmons had been one of the Titans most reliable defensive pieces and had recently signed a three-year extension, which made the deal all the more striking for a player who had remained a cornerstone in Tennessee.
For Bulldogs fans, the most interesting wrinkle is the reunion waiting in Chicago, where Simmons will line up again with former Mississippi State teammate Montez Sweat. The Bears are also watching the injury situation in Seattle, where left tackle Charles Cross is dealing with a high ankle sprain and could miss one to two weeks, a development that could shape the next matchup on Chicagos schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Heads To Texas With A Problem Getting Harder To Ignore
Mississippi States trip to Texas is getting more complicated by the day, and the injury report only added to the concern. The Bulldogs were already dealing with a defense that has been hit hard, and now safety Isaac Smith and linebacker Tyler Lockhart have been downgraded to doubtful for the matchup, leaving even less certainty in the middle of the field.
The trouble does not stop there, either. Left guard DJ Chester has been ruled out, forcing Mississippi State to adjust up front against a Texas team that is also managing its own health issues, including the absence of edge rusher Colin Simmons. For the Bulldogs, the bigger question is how much more shuffling they can absorb before it starts to show on both sides of the ball. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Just Turned Its Final Five Games Into A QB Audition
Mississippi States quarterback picture has shifted again, and the timing makes the final stretch of the season feel a lot bigger than just wins and losses. With Kamario Taylor out after season-ending surgery, the Bulldogs have had to rework the depth chart on the fly, and the remaining games now carry extra weight for a room that is suddenly short on certainty.
Jaden Rashada and Marquis Johnson are among the names whose roles could be shaped by what happens next, while freshman Brodie McWhorter adds another layer to the evaluation. He has yet to play, but the staff still has room to get a look at him without burning a year of eligibility, which gives Mississippi State a chance to learn something useful before the transfer portal starts to reshape the roster again. [Read more 🡒]