The Bears went all-in by trading for four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons on Thursday.

All-in on Caleb Williams, that is.

While Simmons fills an obvious weak spot for the Bears and would be a sensible acquisition in a vacuum, no team would make a deal like that unless it believed it already had a championship-caliber quarterback to make a run at the Super Bowl.

Not a quarterback who could get there eventually. Not someone still developing. Someone ready to take them there now. This season.

This is arguably the most aggressive trade executed by Poles during his tenure as the Bears' GM. While Poles notably changed the trajectory of the franchise in 2023 when he sent the first overall pick to Carolina for wide receiver DJ Moore and four draft picks, one of which was used to select quarterback Caleb Williams at the top of the 2024 draft, the GM had never traded multiple first-round selections.

This is Ryan Poles’ all-in moment. And this is different than what the Bears did in 2018 by trading for Khalil Mack. This time, the Bears really are ready for this. They’re ready to go all-in. In 2018, the Bears believed in Matt Nagy and Mitch Trubisky, and yet, both still had to prove themselves. The same questions and concerns don’t exist with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams. They’re already one of the best teams in the NFL. And here’s one more thing: Dennis Allen isn’t going anywhere. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio left the Bears after the 2018 season and everything changed.

Bears fans are seeing "All-Pro" next to Jeffery Simmons' name and are thinking "Oh man, he's good" (he is), but just how good is Jeffery Simmons?

Per @NextGenStats, Simmons has generated 28 pressures this season — the most among NFL DTs — and that includes 10 pressures and three sacks when double-teamed — both of which are also the most among DTs.

What about against the run, you say?

Simmons has faced 101 double teams this season, the second-most among defensive tackles. But that hasn't stopped him from recording 21 run stops, which is tied for the second-most among DTs, while playing a career-high 86.6% of the Titans defensive snaps.

He's a mauler no matter what situation you put him in.

It’s a franchise-altering move for a team sitting at 1-6. As I’ve said over the past couple of days, trading Simmons makes more sense right now than it ever has. That’s why I’m surprised by this Titans trade, but not shocked.

My initial reaction: fantastic work by Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi. My grade for the Jeffery Simmons trade is an A- today, with  a ceiling of A+ by the end of the year. Not all first-round picks are made equal, and Chicago’s playoff fate over the next two seasons will decide where this one lands.

Simmons remains in the peak of his career, having just turned 29 at the start of training camp, and should have several prime years remaining. He's played a whopping 425 of the Titans' 490 defensive snaps (86.7%), which is just about as high a percentage as you'll see for an interior player. 

The Titans used him as a one-gap penetrator but he is capable of lining up at just about any technique up front. He's a high-motor rusher and an elite run stopper who still demands and draws double teams at a high rate. In his Week 6 game against the Colts, Simmons faced multiple blockers often yet finished with a game-high seven pressures.