Bears urged to pursue dominant defensive lineman before 2025 trade deadline

"The arrival of Simmons would immediately improve the Bears’ defense, which needs pass rushers and run stoppers," Sports Illustrated's Matt Verderame wrote . "Simmons excels in both areas and could form a dominant duo with edge rusher Montez Sweat. For years, the Bears’ defense has done the heavy lifting. Now that the offense is showing signs of improvement, the defense has regressed. Simmons can help balance out Chicago’s problems this season."

Sign. Me. Up.

Simmons would instantly become the Bears' best all-around defensive player -- yes, he's better than Montez Sweat and would make a greater impact than Jaylon Johnson on defense.

Simmons is a two-time All-Pro (2021, 2022) and three-time Pro Bowler (2021, 2022, 2024), and at 28 years old, still has plenty of good football left in the tank.

Sure, the investment the Bears made in Grady Jarrett could make an addition like Simmons seem superfluous, but with how poorly Chicago's defense is playing right now, Poles can't stick with the status quo just because of investments he's already made.

Jeffery Simmons signed a four-year, $94 million contract extension in 2023, so the dollars have to make sense with the salary cap. That's Poles' job; figure it out.

Any chance for the Chicago Bears to make a splash move like this would require hope for a playoff run. Which means coming out of the bye hot. There's a chance they can do that with contests against the Commanders, Saints, Ravens, and Bengals before the trade deadline.

Washington remains hobbled by Jayden Daniels' injury. New Orleans might be the worst team in football. There's a chance Lamar Jackson will be out for a few weeks, too, and the Burrow-less Bengals are beatable.

Meanwhile, the Titans are 0-4 and have scored the least amount of points in the NFL. It will be a gloomy first year with Cam Ward behind center, making Tennessee a potential seller at the deadline.

Indeed, a splash move could be coming.