When Peter King spoke to Bears General Manager Ryan Poles for this week’s Football Morning in America, there was a lot of discussion about trading the first overall pick in this year’s draft and one topic was when the team might pull the trigger.
Poles told King that teams would “have to go above and beyond” in order to get the Bears to make a trade before the start of free agency while adding that he thought teams in need of a quarterback might feel the need to make something happen as soon as possible in order to ensure they got what they want. The Panthers obviously agreed with that view.
Poles pulled the trigger Friday when he agreed to a deal that will send the pick to Carolina for the No. 9 pick, the 61st pick, a 2024 first-rounder, a 2025 second-rounder, and wide receiver DJ Moore. Picking up Moore also checked a box that Poles talked about at the Combine.
“There are some scenarios to add players as well, which gives us clarity for what we need to add in the draft,” Poles said, via USAToday.com.
The timing also allows the Bears clarity for free agency because adding Moore at the top of the wide receiver depth chart should impact the players they’re going to be pursuing next week.
