Just when you think you’ve heard all there is to hear about the Chicago Bears’ blockbuster trade of the #1 overall pick to Carolina, more details trickled out. By now, we know most of the details. GM Ryan Poles felt the market coming together around the scouting combine. Multiple teams were interested, but most weren’t ready to fully commit to a deal. They wanted to wait until their evaluations of the quarterback class were complete. The Panthers had no such reservations. Plagued by quarterback issues for the past five seasons, their GM, Scott Fitterer, was prepared to be aggressive.
From there, the talks between him and Poles intensified. Then on March 10th, everything came together. Carolina sent the 9th pick, two 2nd round picks, a future 1st round pick, and wide receiver D.J. Moore to Chicago for #1. What many don’t know is where the urgency from Fitterer came from. It turns out we may have an answer. It comes courtesy of Courtney Cronin of ESPN. She unveiled a fascinating nugget about something that happened at the combine.
“Fitterer took a break from watching prospects work out one day and stepped outside of the Panthers’ suite at Lucas Oil Stadium. He spotted Poles mid-conversation with a personnel executive from a team also looking for a quarterback.
Was this a casual chat? Was this the beginning of laying out the framework of a trade? Fitterer had no way of being sure, and he didn’t want to wait any longer, so he set up a meeting.”
It appears paranoia began to set in for the Panthers GM after that.
He confirmed it only kept building from there as word filtered in from his own sources that other teams were closing in on the pick. Once the hounds started getting too close, Fitterer chose to act.
On Tuesday (March 7th), Fitterer started hearing buzz that the Bears were in talks with other teams and could be closing in on making a deal.
“Tuesday afternoon, you just got the sense the pick was going to be traded,” Fitterer said. “I kind of heard some things, so I called Ryan. He’s like, ‘OK, why don’t we talk? Why don’t you throw something together for us?'”
The Panthers went to work and made a difficult decision to include Moore, who had been a staple in Carolina since he was drafted in 2018.
The Chicago Bears took full advantage of their leverage.
It was felt that having Houston at #2 would give the Bears tons of bargaining power in trade talks, especially with so many teams needing a quarterback. Sure enough, the Panthers fell victim to that inevitable fear. They didn’t want to miss out on their preferred option because they were too cautious. Unfortunately, it would require a sacrifice. To close the deal with Chicago, Fitterer had to give up Moore. That was the only way to get Poles to agree on a deal before the start of free agency. Despite having just signed the star receiver to an extension, the Panthers agreed.
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It was a brutal decision. Everybody in the locker room loved Moore. However, replacing receivers is easier than pass rushers or defensive tackles. Poles didn’t care. He knew he was getting his young quarterback a legitimate weapon in the passing game. That doesn’t even account for the three extra draft picks on top of it. This trade has a chance to work out well for both teams. Carolina gets the quarterback they want, and Chicago gets the necessary ammunition to retool a depleted roster.
