Mississippi State Professional Athletes

Mississippi State had itself a week — and that's underselling it considerably.

The Trade That Shook the NFL

The biggest move of the trade-deadline season didn't just involve a former Bulldog. It was a former Bulldog.

The Chicago Bears acquired All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans on Thursday in a blockbuster that immediately reshuffled the NFC's power structure. Bears GM Ryan Poles didn't mince words in the aftermath, calling Simmons a "red-level" defender — the kind a franchise needs to win a Super Bowl — and Chicago's odds shifted accordingly. Multiple outlets moved the Bears into legitimate Super Bowl contender status, with the trade drawing comparisons to the kind of win-now swings made by championship-caliber organizations.

Simmons, who played his final game in a Titans uniform on Sunday (a 24-27 loss to Cleveland), was immediately embraced by his new team. Sports Illustrated reported he arrived at Halas Hall and wasted no time establishing himself as a leader, with one piece declaring Chicago had a "new sheriff in Chitown." His debut is set against the Seattle Seahawks, where defensive coordinator Dennis Allen will integrate him into a pass rush that was already one of the NFC's more dangerous units.

The ripple effects were felt league-wide. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh reportedly took an unconventional approach in trying to land Simmons before Chicago won the sweepstakes, per CBS Sports. The trade also set off speculation about what — or who — the Bears might pursue next before the Nov. 10 deadline.

For Mississippi State fans, the story has a particular footnote: fellow Bulldog Montez Sweat is already on that Bears defensive line. Chicago now starts two MSU alums in their front seven as they chase a championship.

Prescott Answers the Bell

While Simmons was making headlines on the transaction wire, Dak Prescott was busy settling some scores on the field.

Coming off a two-game skid and enduring a very public shaming from Hall of Fame QB Terry Bradshaw before kickoff, Prescott delivered a statement performance against Philadelphia on Monday Night Football. He finished with 212 passing yards, three touchdown passes, and a 38-21 final that wasn't nearly as close as the margin suggests.

Prescott's postgame message was direct: "The NFC East title is right in front of us." Dallas entered the week at 2-4, and the win doesn't erase the rocky start — but it does give the Cowboys a foothold in a division race that remains very much open. Prescott had faced genuine trade speculation in the lead-up to the game, with a former NFL MVP floated as a potential swap target if Dallas didn't turn things around. He answered emphatically.

The win also had an inadvertent Mississippi State flavor: the Eagles, on the receiving end of the loss, had their own Bulldog in Fletcher Cox watching the defense get carved up.

Around the League

Elsewhere, Elgton Jenkins (Browns) and Jeffery Simmons played on opposite sides of Cleveland's 27-24 win over Tennessee on Sunday — a Bulldog-on-Bulldog subplot before the trade made Simmons a former Titan in all but memory. Martin Emerson Jr. and the Saints dropped a 16-10 decision to Pittsburgh, while Emmanuel Forbes Jr.'s Rams handled Las Vegas 35-21.

It was, by any measure, a landmark week to be a Mississippi State fan watching Sundays — and Mondays.

Mississippi State's defensive alumni had a Week 6 to remember across the NFL, headlined by a Saints cornerback who turned in one of the league's best individual performances of the weekend.

Emerson Earns His Flowers

Martin Emerson Jr. didn't just play well in New Orleans' 34-27 win over the New York Giants — he was the story. The Saints cornerback hauled in two interceptions, helping lift New Orleans to a Week 6 victory and earning NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors in the process. Emerson was one of three Saints players called out specifically for boosting their stock in the win, a performance that puts him firmly in the conversation among the NFC's better corners this season. For a Saints secondary that has needed a consistent playmaker in the back end, this was exactly the kind of game that changes how opposing offenses game-plan.

Simmons Keeps the Pressure On

Down in Nashville, Jeffery Simmons continued his case as one of the most disruptive interior linemen in football. The four-time Pro Bowler recorded two sacks in the Titans' 26-20 win over the Colts — a result that likely quieted, at least temporarily, trade chatter swirling around him heading into the November 10 deadline. With head coach Mike Vrabel reportedly a massive admirer and the Patriots floated as a potential trade destination by Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Simmons' production only raises the price on what would be a blockbuster deal. For now, he remains Tennessee's most impactful defensive player, and Sunday was a reminder of exactly why.

Sweat Back in the Mix in Chicago

The third major Bulldog storyline belongs to Montez Sweat, who is back on the Bears' defensive front after missing time. His return comes at an interesting moment for Chicago's pass rush: linebacker Kyler Gordon had stepped into an unlikely sack role over the previous two weeks, and the Bears now face the question of how to distribute edge-rushing responsibilities with Sweat healthy. Adding another wrinkle, Sweat is entering a contract year, which has prompted Chicago's front office to be flagged in at least one 2027 mock draft as needing to reload the defensive line with an eye toward his future. How much of the snap count Sweat reclaims — and whether emerging rusher Daniel Hardy cuts into his role — will be worth watching as the season's second half approaches.

Around the Bulldog Diaspora

Elsewhere, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys stumbled to a 13-23 loss against the Packers, with Prescott throwing two interceptions to finish with 258 passing yards and one touchdown. Dallas sits at 2-4, and Prescott's QB ranking has taken a hit in the aftermath. Chris Jones and the Chiefs rolled to a 22-6 win over the Chargers in Week 6, with the defense allowing just 259 total yards and forcing two turnovers. The Chiefs moved to 5-0 on the back of that dominant defensive effort.

The defensive DNA that Mississippi State produces continues to show up on Sundays — and this week, it showed up in force.

The Sweat Crisis

Montez Sweat's two-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substances policy couldn't have landed at a worse time for the Chicago Bears. The Mississippi State product — and the team's most dangerous pass-rusher — will miss Week 6 against the Atlanta Falcons and Week 7 against the New England Patriots, leaving a defensive front that was already thin looking borderline unrecognizable.

Head coach Ben Johnson didn't soften his reaction to the news, offering what was described as a blunt response that left little ambiguity about how the organization views the situation. The Bears are now paying the price for a roster-building philosophy that Sports Illustrated called out directly: Chicago has not prioritized the edge rusher position in the draft under GM Ryan Poles, and the Sweat suspension has exposed exactly how shallow that depth chart runs.

The timing is particularly brutal because Sweat isn't the only piece missing. Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo is headed to injured reserve, and linebacker T.J. Edwards is also sidelined, leaving the Bears' defensive front completely depleted heading into a Week 6 matchup where they'll need to slow down Bijan Robinson and the Falcons' offense.

Trade Deadline Pressure Mounts

The roster crisis is now driving legitimate trade deadline urgency. Multiple proposals have surfaced in the wake of Sweat's suspension. One scenario pitched by Heavy Sports involves the Bears targeting a $76 million edge rusher in an aggressive, all-in move before the November deadline. Another floating idea involves Buffalo Bills cornerback Maxwell Hairston — a sign that Chicago's concerns may extend beyond the pass rush and into the secondary as well.

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising name in the mix: Khalil Mack. Sports Illustrated floated a reunion with the former Bears edge rusher as the most logical short-term fix, though Heavy Sports subsequently reported that a Mack trade is not materializing in the way Chicago might have hoped. The Raiders' Maxx Crosby has also entered the conversation, with speculation about his future in Las Vegas renewing interest from teams like the Bears.

The suspension and the Odeyingbo injury combine to create a compounding problem Poles can't ignore. Whether the front office acts — or absorbs the losses and waits for Sweat's return — will define how seriously this Bears team takes its playoff window.

Around the League

While the Sweat situation dominates the headlines, a few other Mississippi State alumni had notable weeks. The Jacksonville Jaguars' Logan Cooke had a strong showing as Jacksonville knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles 19–17 on Sunday. In New Orleans, cornerback Decamerion Richardson was signed off waivers after the Saints waived CB Jayden Price following a costly special teams fumble — Richardson stepping directly into a role on a Saints secondary that features fellow Bulldog Martin Emerson Jr. And in Miami, linebacker Willie Gay Jr. is reportedly drawing trade interest from the Dallas Cowboys as the 0–5 Dolphins explore options ahead of the November 10 deadline — a storyline that would put another MSU alum, Dak Prescott, on the receiving end of the deal.