Well, another NFL trade deadline has come and gone. 

The Tennessee Titans had already traded away Jeffery Simmons. He was sent to the Chicago Bears for three draft picks, something that was mostly unheard of in the NFL for a defensive tackle. 

Ahead of deadline day, the news on the Titans was that they were looking to hold on to their remaining valuable pieces. Amani Hooker, Tony Pollard, and Calvin Ridley were all receiving interest, but the Titans were firm in their position to retain them for at least the remainder of the season. 

Hooker and Pollard received attention after their recent success in the last two weeks. Hooker had a three-interception game against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. Pollard had his second consecutive 100-yard game in Week 8. 

Ridley hadn't done much for the Titans over the last two years, and the team was looking to get out of his contract. He went from being the team's WR1 in 2024 to becoming a bench player this year. 

At the end of the day, the Titans dealt only Hooker. Hooker was traded to the Buffalo Bills for a 2027 second-round pick, keeping both Pollard and Ridley around. 

Now that we are well past the 3 p.m. CT window, let's discuss the moves that General Manager Mike Borgonzi made and give it a grade. 

Like I imagine it was for many fans, I was sad when I woke up on Oct. 29 and learned that the Titans had traded Simmons to the Bears. 

Simmons was one of the last players still here from the old Titans. Certain fans grew up with Simmons on the Titans, so it definitely hurt to see him go. 

The move made sense for the Titans, and the haul they got was great. The Titans will now have two first-round picks in 2027 and 2028. They'll also have two fourth-round picks in next year's draft thanks to the Hooker trade with the Bills. 

It was sad to see Simmons go, but it was necessary for the Titans as they look toward the future. 

We had seen this before. 

The reporting on Hooker was that the Titans weren't looking to trade him. Much like with Simmons, that all changed when someone sent Borgonzi an offer he couldn't refuse. 

Getting a second-round pick was a great return for Hooker. There's no guarantee that someone would've sent over a first-round pick for the safety. 

Given how well he's been playing lately, I'd be surprised if the Titans didn't deal him at the deadline. 

Hooker leads the league with five interceptions. It would be dumb for the Titans not to take that deal. 

The Titans realized that without Pollard, this offense was going to struggle. 

The running game has benefited the offense immensely in the last two weeks. The Titans understand that Cam Ward needs a reliable running back like Pollard, too. 

We saw that come to fruition against the Bengals. Pollard kept the chains moving, which allowed Ward to remain comfortable throughout the game. 

With the trade deadline officially passed, the Titans can either re-sign Pollard or let him walk in free agency. 

We'll never know how much interest Ridley was truly receiving now that the trade deadline has come and gone. 

His incident at the Nashville Airport on Sunday night definitely didn't do him any favors. The worst part about not trading Ridley was that the Titans are still under that awful four-year, $92 million contract that Ran Carthon signed him to a few years ago. 

It looks like Ridley will remain a backup in the receiver room. 

As a whole, I really liked what the Titans did at the deadline. 

You can't expect Borgonzi to pass up those deals for Simmons and Hooker. He got a solid return for both of them. 

I didn't see a world where the Titans would just move on from Pollard unless they were confident that they weren't sticking with Ward. It would've been nice to move on from the Ridley contract, and that's really the only reason I didn't give them a higher grade. 

I also realize that the market for Ridley was going to be small anyways. The Titans would've been lucky to get a seventh-round pick for him. 

All in all, this goes in line with what Borgonzi said at one of his first press conferences. He wanted to gather as many top-100 picks as possible to help get this team back on track. 

The Titans now have two first-round picks, three second-round picks, two third-round picks and three fourth-round picks in the next two drafts. 

These were absolutely the right moves for the Titans to make at the deadline. They now have a surplus of draft capital for April. I think this is something that Titans fans are going to look back on and be glad it happened.