A wary Bears fan might point to the trade as a major risk. In theory, it is: Sending future high-value picks elsewhere in exchange for a talent who can instantly upgrade an area of need for the Bears is a win-now move that carries the possibility of mortgaging the future for the present.

Much of that fear exists in a hypothetical realm, though; first-round picks are only as valuable as the players on which a team spends its selections.

Poles believes his front office has proven itself worthy of making such a move, and he expects his personnel department to capitalize on the team’s remaining picks.

“One thing I want to hit, I know it’s kind of a joke that kind of goes around but like ‘F- them picks’ is a big thing,” Poles said, referencing the Los Angeles Rams’ win-now style of roster construction. “That’s really not what we’re about. I know it took a lot to get this done, but we absolutely believe that the draft and bringing young talent is a way that you sustain success around here. I’m challenging myself and our crew for the picks that we do have, we have to hit.

“We have to be great with our undrafted free agent process and whatever tier of free agency we’re working in which will have constraints we got to hit there too. We have a good track record it continues to get better every year, so I’ve got a lot of faith that we’ll be able to get that done, and again, sustain success.”

Those are largely tomorrow’s problems. It’s Week 8 in the 2026 season, the Bears are 5-2 in a highly competitive NFC North, and they need to be as strong as possible if they hope to repeat as division champions. Poles made the Simmons trade with this in mind, and as the paperwork was filed to the league office in New York, Simmons quickly understood the intent.

“My game, my passion, my energy, my leadership, I can only help this team even more than what it’s got,” he said. “This is a great locker room from quarterback all the way down. My job is not trying to come in here and be nothing than but myself. I’m excited to be able to help this team compete for a championship. That’s every team in the NFL’s goal. I think right now with the way this team has been competing — I’ve been watching these guys from afar — it’s a great team, great locker room and I’m excited to do my part to help this team get to its goal.”