The Bears acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jefferey Simmons and a 2028 fifth-round pick from the Tennessee Titans in exchange for Chicago's 2027 and 2028 first-round picks and 2027 fourth-round pick, the Titans announced Thursday.
The cost is steep, as Simmons is the first defensive tackle since 1967 to be traded for multiple first-round picks, according to ESPN. Since the Titans drafted Simmons with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, he has been one of the best defensive tackles in football.
The four-time Pro Bowler has recorded 414 tackles and 46.5 sacks in 106 career games. Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk said the organization is forever grateful for Simmons.
"There are few people like Jeff Simmons. We are forever grateful for all he has given this team and this city. His formidable presence on the field was surpassed only by what he did off it. He gave Nashville more than football. The Give ’Em A Reason Foundation has changed lives in Middle Tennessee and in Mississippi, and I have no doubt it will continue to wherever he goes," Strunk said in a statement.
"Jeff — thank you. For how you played, how you led, and how you represented our team."
The Bears are 5-2, and the acquisition of Simmons will help shore up a questionable defensive line. While the Bears are still generating plenty of sacks, those have largely come from blitzing linebackers and defensive backs rather than defensive linemen.
Simmons, who led the Titans with four sacks, six tackles for loss and four passes defended, is a major upgrade to a defensive front that has ranked near the bottom of the NFL in pressure rate since Dennis Allen took over as defensive coordinator in 2025. The Bears' 28.8% pressure rate is tied for 20th in the NFL, according to StatRankings.
Not only are the Bears adding Simmons to their defensive line, but star defensive end Montez Sweat is also set to return on Monday night against the Seattle Seahawks after a two-game suspension.
At 5-2, the Bears are second in the NFC North behind the undefeated Minnesota Vikings (6-0). The Bears hope adding Simmons can help them overtake the Vikings atop the standings and earn a home playoff game in January.
Simmons will help the Bears not only this season but also for the next several years after signing a three-year, $105.8 million contract extension that keeps him under contract through the 2030 season.
The Titans, on the other hand, are 1-6 and have traded away one of their franchise cornerstones. Entering the season, they hoped to contend in the AFC South with new coach Robert Saleh and quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, entering his second season.
Instead, they are in the AFC’s basement and appear further away from contention than ever, as Ward has struggled mightily this season.
If you're a fan of a team that's struggling, it's easy to feel like your home stadium or arena is haunted, and a new survey just crowned the most haunted sports venue in North America.
Arlington, Texas' AT&T Stadium takes the top spot, which makes sense because on more than one occasion we've seen expressions on the faces of Dallas Cowboys players as if they had just seen a ghost.
This info comes to us from The Sports Geek, which employed a more scientific approach to this than I've ever seen in an episode of "Ghost Hunters."
They scored 47 venues across the US and Canada based on their haunted lore, age, proximity to burial sites, and, finally, an "other" category for the rest of each one's ghoulish attributes.
In a shocker, Jerry's World — which opened in only 2009 — out-ghosted Dodger Stadium and 112-year-old Wrigley Field for the top spot.
Man, this really puts my long-running argument of there being no new ghosts to shame...
Former stadium employee Selena Sixtos wrote an article in 2018 for Dallas Sports Fanatics in which she cites several odd occurrences. These included some poltergeist-like activity in a kitchen, a chill around a room named after legendary coach Tom Landry, and an incident in which she heard someone in a bathroom stall, only for it to be unoccupied.
Which, in fairness, is actually way down the list of scary things to find in a stadium restroom, but creepy nonetheless.
The stadium is also built next to a graveyard, per The Dallas Observer, and a worker was killed in an accident during its construction. That helps account for why it was able to overcome its comparatively young age.
The most shocking thing of all is that the stadium might be the first to top a "most haunted" list with no sightings of Civil War soldiers or early or 20th-century widows.
A recent study found that roughly 75% of deceased NFL players had at least some case of CTE.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive, degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head impacts rather than a single injury, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The study from Boston University researchers consisted of more than 2,300 deceased former players aged 80 or older who died between 2008 and 2023, nearly 400 of whom were donors.
Out of the 396 who donated their brains to research, 93.5% of them were diagnosed. Researchers estimated that former NFL players with clear cognitive symptoms were roughly five times more likely to donate their brains than those without such symptoms.
Donors also died younger on average - 67 years old compared to almost 75.
CTE can only be diagnosed after death and is identified in four stages, with stage 4 being the worst.
"Many cases may have been early stage at the time of death and possibly symptom free," the study noted.
The study also estimated that 27.2% of the players had a history of all-cause dementia during life, but it did not conclude whether dementia was caused by CTE.
A study released in August found that at least 1 in 4 people who have played in the NFL might expect to end up with CTE at some point in their lives.
The symptoms found in those with CTE include memory loss, mood swings, erratic behavioral actions and more.
While the disease was first found in boxers, it has become associated with football players in this modern era due to the repeated blows to the head sustained on every snap of the ball. It has, however, also been found in athletes participating in hockey, rugby and other sports.
But its connection to football became public when beloved players like Junior Seau, Mike Webster, Frank Gifford and others were diagnosed with CTE after their deaths. Webster was dubbed "Patient Zero" after Dr. Bennet Omalu examined his brain and became the first to diagnose an NFL player with CTE, jump-starting a concussion crisis within the game.
There were 168 documented in-game concussions during the 2025 NFL season, which was a 30% increase from the 129 recorded during the 2024 campaign. There were a total of 538 evaluations and 26 medical timeouts as well.
OutKick's Scott Thompson contributed to this report.
Football is back for Week 8, and it is hard to believe we are almost halfway through the regular season. I still feel like we don't really know all that much about these teams. Are some of these teams that have good records actually bad (the Chiefs), or are some of the bad-record teams actually good (the Cowboys)? Maybe those two teams aren't even the best examples of those situations. There are two teams on Thursday Night Football that are a bit hard to judge, as the Panthers and Packers take each other on.
The Carolina Panthers are 3-3 for the season and 2-1 on the road. Bryce Young is searching for a contract extension, or maybe at this point a new home. The good news for him is that he has looked fantastic in his fourth year under center. He is on pace to have the best season of his career. The running game has been solid for the team, even if they don't really use it as much as they probably need to. Chuba Hubbard is averaging about 4.5 yards per carry, but the team has attempted roughly 100 more passes than runs.
Defensively, this team has struggled against the run, but has been very good against the pass. They have the worst defense in football when it comes to stopping the run. However, against the pass, they are ranked sixth. That might be a good thing against a Packers team that has struggled to run the ball this season. What is interesting to me is that, if you look at the schedule, the Panthers have won games against Bijan Robinson, Jahmyr Gibbs and Saquon Barkley. They lost to the Bears, Browns and Buccaneers. No knock on those three, but I don't think their team's running backs would be as feared as the ones they beat.
The Green Bay Packers are 4-3 for the season and have done a good job of protecting their home field, entering with a 2-1 record. Jordan Love is having a really strong season and is arguably being asked to do more than ever before. The team was missing starting running back Josh Jacobs, who was away from the team due to legal issues. Without Jacobs, the Packers really struggled to find any traction on the ground this season. His return last week wasn't transformational; Jacobs only had 36 yards on 11 carries.
The Packers will continue to rely on Love's arm to get the job done. He's already thrown the ball 270 times this season, which is almost double the number of times they've called a run play. That does make the offense a bit one-dimensional, and against the Panthers' defense, they could struggle.
The Packers, in general, don't score all that many points. They are averaging 20.6 points per game, 25th in the NFL, putting them in the same company as the Cardinals and Broncos.
It would be really hard to imagine that the Panthers and Packers play in a shootout tonight. Despite both of these teams excelling in the passing game, they aren't exactly elite offenses. Both are pretty good at stopping the pass. I think this game is likely to be a slow-starting game with both trying to figure things out. I'd be surprised if it goes over 47.5 for the game, but I think the under in the first half is even more likely. Neither team is a fast-starting team. Give me the under 23.5 for the 1st half.
The partnership between Mike McDaniel and the Los Angeles Chargers has not gone according to plan. Through the first six games of the season, the Chargers have yet to record a victory.
The offense has been particularly underwhelming, fueling calls for the team to make a change at offensive play caller. But head coach Jim Harbaugh is staying the course with Mike McDaniel. "We're very confident in Mike and his talent, his work ethic and his ability," Harbaugh said Wednesday, according to The Athletic. "We continue to be."
Harbaugh said the Chargers’ bye-week self-evaluation played a role in the decision.
"I feel like every stone, any part that we could look to better, that's the way we responded," Harbaugh said.
The Chargers were on a bye in Week 7 after scoring just six points in a Week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The performance lowered their league-worst scoring average to 15 points per game.
Every other NFL team has won at least one game, leaving the Chargers as the league’s only winless team.
McDaniel's four-season run as the Miami Dolphins ended in January. Harbaugh then hired McDaniel, who has widely been regarded as one of the better offensive minds in the league.
McDaniel described Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert as one of the most talented players he's seen play the position. He said he wanted to help Herbert "own" the position.
McDaniel’s influence was evident in the offseason, when Herbert changed his shotgun stance by moving his left foot ahead of his right. Herbert also worked on his footwork and simulated throws with a green water ball instead of throwing.
McDaniel was the architect of the Dolphins’ 2023 offense, which scored a record 70 points and produced more than 700 yards in a win over the Denver Broncos.
The Indianapolis Colts already declared themselves sellers before the Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline, and now football fans are wondering which struggling team might be next.
The New York Jets, who share the Colts' 2-5 record, are among the teams with intriguing veterans they could trade.
Among them, star receiver Garrett Wilson, who has long been a bright light on what seems to be a constant overcast for the franchise that owns the longest active playoff drought in professional sports — 15 seasons.
During a media gathering ahead of the Jets’ Week 8 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders, Wilson was asked once again about trade rumors involving himself before the deadline.
He made it clear he has no desire to be traded, but he’s also not happy with the losing culture that he hasn’t been able to escape since the Jets took him 10th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft.
"Yeah, I want to be here, man," he told reporters, via ESPN. "I want to win games and that’s the one thing we’ve been missing on here. I love it here. Do I love it more than I love winning? Nah, to be completely honest, but I’m hopeful.
"I’ve never been the best optimistic guy, but I’ve found a way and dug deep, and I’ve been optimistic for three, four, five years now. And that’s why these [losses] each weekend hurt a little more."
The questions to Wilson came after he was noticeably frustrated on the Jets’ sideline during their 28-25 loss to the Miami Dolphins, who picked up their first win of the season. Wilson had only seen three targets from quarterback Geno Smith, hauling in two for 26 yards. The week prior, Wilson had four catches for 44 yards against the New England Patriots.
But just over a year ago, Wilson cashed in on a four-year, $130 million contract that keeps him locked in with the Jets through 2030. As such, his price tag for a potential trade would be quite high.
Then again, the Jets have proven to deal first-round talent after doing so last season amid a fire sale of their own. Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams landed with the Dallas Cowboys, while cornerback Sauce Gardner was dealt to the Colts, which came right after he signed his four-year, $120 million extension.
Simply put, nobody’s safe on a struggling roster. And Wilson may want to stay put, but his frustration is building as the Jets continue to lose.
Since he joined the Jets, Wilson has seen his team go 24-51, going no better than 7-10 in a single season.
"I’d be lying if I said it's not," Wilson said about the compounding losses and lack of getting targets in some games leading to frustration, "but at the end of the day it comes down to ... winning and losing. Throughout my experience, when things go right, I tend to have a part in that. And when it doesn't, it seems avoidable.
"That's my main frustration that may show on the TV or something like that. But I don't want it to ever be misconstrued. This all comes from a place in my heart of wanting to win. I'm biased, but it also comes from experience where I played my part in that."
Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Josh Downs has requested a trade, according to ESPN. The 25-year-old did not deny the report when speaking to reporters.
"I’m open to whatever. Whatever comes my way, comes my way and we go from there," Downs said, according to ESPN.
Downs’ trade request comes amid the Colts' roster overhaul, which included trading two of their franchise cornerstones, Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, in separate deals Tuesday. The Colts fired general manager Chris Ballard last week, and after Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings, the team appears to be entering a rebuilding phase.
The Colts traded Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks for third- and fifth-round draft picks and sent Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers for a fourth-round pick. The picks are particularly valuable to Indianapolis because the team does not own its first-round selection in next year's draft after trading it to the New York Jets for cornerback Sauce Gardner last year.
Downs has spent his entire four-year NFL career with the Colts after Indianapolis selected him in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of North Carolina.
In seven games this season, Downs has caught 26 passes for 307 yards. In 54 career games with the Colts, he has recorded 224 receptions for 2,447 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has also returned punts, averaging 9.4 yards per return during his career.
The trade deadline is Nov. 10, and Downs could be playing elsewhere by then if the Colts grant his reported request. If he remains with Indianapolis through Sunday, the Colts will face the Jacksonville Jaguars at 1 p.m. ET in what could be his final game with the team.
Indianapolis Colts star running back Jonathan Taylor’s wife, Ayanna, is asking the question on every Colts fan's mind: "Is literally anybody safe on this team?"
The 2-5 Colts traded two of their franchise cornerstones Tuesday, sending Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for draft picks. Indianapolis hopes those picks will help build its next competitive roster.
For right now? The trades have left other prominent Colts players and their families wondering whether they could be moved before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
Jonathan Taylor is reportedly available in trade discussions, raising questions about his future in Indianapolis. Ayanna Taylor is uncertain about the disruption a potential trade could bring to their family.
"So naturally, my mind is spiraling. Is this the start of the trading frenzy? What does this mean for my husband and I? Do I need to start packing our bags? Are we even going to be spending our daughter's first Halloween together? Will we make it to game day? Or was last week the last time my husband will be putting on a Colts jersey?" Taylor said in a video posted to TikTok.
"Because here's the thing. In the NFL, your life can literally change with one phone call or apparently one post. And sometimes you just find out while running errands on a random Tuesday."
She said the season already felt different because the Colts traded wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and linebacker Zaire Franklin during the offseason. Taylor had grown close to both players' families.
"Something that people may not realize about the NFL is like, yes, you understand that changes come with it. For years, I've been surrounded by the same women. Our husbands work together. We've built friendships and you know, we've just grown up in the league together," Taylor said.
"At least for me, we were on a completely different team because for the first time, some of the women who I started this life experience with were no longer going to be on the same team as me."
Taylor also pondered how the team would do without Nelson, who has been the best offensive lineman her husband has had in his career. Despite the Colts’ struggles, Jonathan Taylor has still thrived.
In seven games, Taylor has rushed for 587 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 17 passes for 178 yards. He signed a two-year, $44 million contract extension with the Colts in August and is under team control through 2028.
The Colts host the Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) at 1 p.m. ET Sunday. If Indianapolis continues making trades, it could be Taylor's final game with the team.
The Kansas City Chiefs signing embattled kicker Justin Tucker to their practice squad has ruffled many football feathers on social media.
Tucker, who served a 10-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy after 24 total women accused him of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior during massage sessions, signed on the Chiefs’ practice squad amid kicking woes with another field goal specialist, Harrison Butker.
Considering the Chiefs’ history with controversial players in recent seasons, OutKick’s Craig Carton believes the Tucker signing has to beg the question: Is it really win at all costs?
"Remember what Kansas City is," Carton said. "A guy like Justin Tucker — 24 different women accused him of inappropriate sexual misconduct. 24 of them. The NFL doesn’t even like suspending its players, no matter what the crime is. And they suspended him for 10 full games. Like, at some point, let that sink in and then ask yourself the question: Is it really win at all costs? Is that really what Kansas City and the Hunt family should stand for? Is it? Apparently, it is."
Carton continued by saying the Chiefs and their owners, the Hunt family, "don’t care about their community" when they sign someone like Tucker to compete for a job.
"They don’t care about the type of person that wears the Kansas City colors. They just care about it doesn’t matter how bad a guy that guy might be," he added. "Can he help me win a football game? I know it’s naïve of me to think otherwise that any other team doesn’t do it, but Kansas City is the worst at it.
"So, yeah, celebrate Patrick Mahomes — one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen, who also appears to be a really good guy and does everything right despite knuckleheads around him like his father, like his brother. We should celebrate the Patrick Mahomes out there, and I think we do. But we shouldn’t do it without also paying attention to the bad guys in football, and ask the Kansas City Chiefs, and specifically Andy Reid, the question of: At what cost? At what cost is that Lombardi Trophy worth?"
In January 2025, The Baltimore Banner reported 16 female massage therapists had accused Tucker of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior during sessions between 2012 and 2016 at eight different spas in the Baltimore area. Tucker was playing for the Ravens, the franchise he thrived with on the field as one of the greatest kickers of all time in the NFL.
According to the report, the accusers said they ended sessions early or refused to work with Tucker again because of the allegations. The report also stated that Tucker was banned from returning to two of those spas, a claim Tucker’s legal team denied.
The report also mentioned that five of the women accusing Tucker claimed he was erect during sessions with him and that he fully or partially exposed himself, while others made other accusations of egregious acts.
Then, on Feb. 16, 2025, the same outlet reported seven more women came forward with allegations similar to the previous about the NFL player. The second wave of allegations accused Tucker of "acting inappropriately" at some of the best luxury spas in Baltimore, including the spas at the Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton Residences in the city.
"I maintain I did not act inappropriately at any point before, during, or after a professional bodywork treatment session, nor have I ever been told I am unwelcome at any massage therapy provider," he said. "These claims are simply not true."
He added at the time that he was recounting 13 years of experiences with bodywork professionals.
"I can assure whoever is reading this that I have never intended to disrespect anyone, cross any boundary, or make anyone feel uncomfortable in any way whatsoever.
"It devastates me to know that anyone I have worked with would not have felt respected and valued as a professional, but more importantly as a person, and to anyone who has felt otherwise, I am sorry," Tucker said in his statement, the full text of which can be found below. "I want you to know I am committed to ensuring that everyone I interact with continues to feel that I respect them and care about them as a human being."
The Ravens cut ties with Tucker after 13 seasons in May 2025, saying it was a "football decision." Tucker was never criminally charged or sued civilly over the allegations, but the allegations, and subsequent NFL suspension, led some to compare him to Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. Both of their cases involved allegations from multiple female massage therapists, with Watson facing an 11-game suspension in 2022.
The Chiefs’ history with controversial players includes wide receiver Rashee Rice, who was involved in a multi-vehicle crash in Dallas in March 2024, leading to felony charges. He served jail time this offseason after violating his probation.
In the past, running back Kareem Hunt was cut by the Chiefs after surveillance video surfaced of a domestic dispute with a woman in a hotel hallway. He served an eight-game suspension in March 2019, though the Chiefs re-signed him in 2024. He spent the last two seasons with Kansas City, playing 30 games. At the time of his re-signing, head coach Andy Reid said that the running back matured, took accountability and deserved a second chance with the club.
Tyreek Hill was also a polarizing receiver who faced a 2014 domestic assault case that was dismissed and a 2019 child abuse probe, though no charges were filed.
And while it isn’t a legal situation, Butker fell into controversial waters after delivering his commencement speech at Benedictine College, where he criticized Pride Month, abortion policies and traditional career roles for women, which drew widespread media reaction and caused Reid and others to field questions about his cultural stances.
On the field, the Chiefs suffered their first loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks on "Sunday Night Football" in Week 7. They still lead the AFC West with a 5-1 record, and look like a team ready to compete for the Lombardi Trophy once more.
It’s unknown how much of a leash Reid and the Chiefs have on Butker’s starting kicker status. He is tied for the most missed field goals in the NFL this season with five.
Tucker, who turns 37 next month, had his worst statistical season of his career in 2024, making only 73.3% of his field goal attempts, which is a career-low. However, he is one of the most decorated at his position to ever play the sport, tallying five first-team nods and seven Pro Bowls. His 89.1% field goal percentage is the second-best mark of all time.
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