As the Chicago Bears and their fans celebrated the blockbuster trade with the Tennessee Titans for superstar defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, the New York Giants and some general managers around the NFL weren't thrilled.

The frustration over the trade wasn't about the Bears making a big upgrade to their defense, but rather what transpired before the trade went down.

According to The Athletic's Mike Silver, the Giants inquired about Simmons' availability but were told the Titans were not listening to offers, which led to Giants head coach John Harbaugh putting in a call to Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk, but that was another dead end, The Athletic's Jonathan Jones reported.

However, the Titans clearly did not rebuff the Bears when they called, which Harbaugh and others believe was because of the close relationship Bears general manager Ryan Poles and Tennessee general manager Mike Borgonzi have.

"And last week, when Harbaugh learned that the Tennessee Titans would not field trade offers from the Giants for star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, while quietly working out a deal with the Chicago Bears? Well, this time, Harbaugh was just plain peeved," Silver reported.

"What bothered Harbaugh, along with several current and former GMs I’ve spoken to, is that the Simmons deal appeared to be an off-the-grid transaction, the product of a private pact between two friends," Silver added.

Did Poles' relationship with Borgonzi help Bears?

Poles and Borgonzi know each other well, as they are former roommates and worked together with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Poles held several different jobs with the Chiefs from 2009-2021, and Borgonzi started with Kansas City the same year and departed for the Titans job in 2025.

While their relationship certainly gave Poles an avenue to at least have Borgonzi pick up the phone, it's not like the Titans just handed Simmons over for peanuts.

Poles offered up a historic package that included two first-round picks, marking the first time in the common draft era that a team traded away multiple first-rounders for a defensive tackle.

Silver notes that the Giants' offer would not have matched what the Bears ended up trading away, so Big Blue wouldn't have had a chance to beat out the Bears, anyway.

Meanwhile, Harbaugh has drawn some ire himself from at least one general manager who told Jones he had violated a "code" by going over Borgonzi's head to the Titans' owner to inquire about Simmons after New York was rebuffed.

Harbaugh admitted he did indeed take that step but thought it was silly that anyone was making a big deal out of it, and we'd agree.

When it comes to Poles and Borgonzi, had the Titans taken a worse offer from the Bears for Simmons simply because they are friends, we could see an issue with that. But that is clearly not the case here, which makes this entire situation silly, at best.

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