Bears Choose to Stay Put With Roster at NFL Trade Deadline

The Chicago Bears didn't make a move on Tuesday before the NFL's trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET. 

That's because Bears general manager Ryan Poles already made his big-time trade to improve his roster on Oct. 29 -- sending two first-round picks and a 2027 fourth-round pick to the Tennessee Titan for three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick. 

Maybe the team could have used another cornerback or an additional edge rusher, but the Bears decided to move forward with the current team. Head coach Ben Johnson discussed his role on Monday afternoon prior to Tuesday's trade deadline.

“I think Ryan's doing a phenomenal job every day," Johnson said. "He's going through and seeing how we can improve this roster, what we need the most of. The coordinators are certainly talking every day right now just where their concerns lie within the roster. And so, we'll see. We'll see if there's another move or two to be made or if we stay put. I feel really confident about the guys that we have in this locker room right now that I think they've proven at this point that we can find a way to win each and every week with this crew.”

The Bears stayed put with their team that is 7-2 and in first place in the NFC North heading into the Week 10 bye. But the one addition, a massive one in stature (6-foot-4, 305-pound) and significance, has changed this Bears team. 

Simmons has played just two games in Chicago's defense, but he has completed changed the way defensive coordinator Dennis Allen can call a game. In the two primetime wins over the Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Allen has significantly reduced his blitzing tendencies because he now has a dominant presence in the interior of the defensive line. 

The Bears blitzed the Seahawks a season-low 20.5% and followed that up with the second-lowest blitz rate of the season in the win over the Buccaneers (25.0%). 

Simmons changes how the Bears can call a game schematically, but also provides the team with a proven leader, who will hold his teammates accountable. The defense needed that type of player because the offense already has Caleb Williams, who also will lead by example with his play and will push his teammates. 

When Poles executed the trade for Simmons, it signaled the Bears' pursuit for a Super Bowl title. So any additional moves shouldn't have been off limits, but it does take two teams to make a trade, and maybe nothing transpired. 

This team also believes in building through the draft, and they're down their next two first-round picks from the Simmons trade. Even though the Bears didn't make an additional move before the trade deadline, the team's aspirations to win a title is still well within reach. 

Adding Simmons alongside Williams and Johnson give this Bears team a legitimate shot to achieve that goal. Those core pieces will be tested over the home stretch, featuring four NFC North matchups and tough non-division tests against the AFC South-leading Jacksonville Jaguars and the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills. 

Poles didn't add any last-minute moves to prove his intent for this team. Now sitting at 7-2 with a disruptive force on the defensive line and a franchise quarterback, Chicago is set to make a final push after their bye to compete with the best teams in the NFL.