Jeffery Simmons didn’t hide how the trade hit him.
The former Titans star said on “The Rich Eisen Show,” in a clip shared by NFL on ESPN on X, that he felt the news the moment he saw missed calls on his phone early one late-October morning.
“I stood up and I said, it’s like something just went through my body,” Simmons said. “I’m like, dang, it’s really about to happen.”
He added, “It was one of those things where I just didn’t think that would happen to me,” and then explained why the move landed so hard: “I’m on year eight here… I felt like I was… the glue of trying to hold this locker room and trying to hold everything together here in Tennessee.”
Simmons said the timing bothered him most. He was still playing at a high level, still giving the Titans everything he had, and he also pointed to his close relationship with owner Amy Adams Strunk.
Even so, he made clear he wasn’t holding a grudge. He said he understood the decision and doesn’t view his time in Tennessee as wasted.
The Titans dealt Simmons to the Chicago Bears on Oct. 29, landing two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder in return. The move came just four months after Simmons signed a three-year, $105.8 million extension that made him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive tackle.
Chicago has gotten immediate production from him. Simmons has a sack in each of his first two games with the Bears, both wins over Seattle and Tampa Bay. Through Week 9, his six sacks led all interior defensive linemen, and Chicago sits at 7-2 with a four-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, Tennessee heads into Sunday’s home game against Jacksonville at 1-7. For Titans fans, seeing their former centerpiece thriving in Chicago only adds another layer of pain to a rough season.
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Titans Catch A Break Before Jacksonvilles New-Look Defense Fully Arrives
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Titans Face A Brutal Test Coming Out Of The Bye
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Jacksonvilles rise has been built on strong play and a busy trade deadline, and oddsmakers have taken notice by treating the Jaguars as one of the leagues top teams so far. For Tennessee, the challenge is less about reputation than reality, because this game arrives with the Titans trying to reset after the break and prove they can hang with a division rival that has been moving in the opposite direction. [Read more 🡒]