Going into Sunday, the primary talk of the Chicago Bears matchup against the Carolina Panthers was the momentous trade between the two in March of last year. GM Ryan Poles sent the #1 pick to Carolina for wide receiver D.J. Moore, the #9 pick, a future 1st round pick, and two 2nd round picks. That package has since turned into a group of players that includes Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson, Caleb Williams, and Tory Taylor. They still have the other 2nd round pick left to go next year, too.
The game proved to be a decisive moment in determining who won the trade. Williams threw for 300 yards and two touchdowns, both of them to Moore. Wright and the offensive line only allowed one sack. Stevenson had two pass deflections while helping the defense allow only 10 points. Young? He was on the bench most of the game, backing up Andy Dalton. However, Carolina decided to salt their own wounds by putting the former #1 pick in the game down 36-10 with four minutes left.
His lone drive ended with a sack by rookie Austin Booker.
Ryan Poles pulled off something truly special.
Here’s the thing. The package he got for Young wasn’t anything overly insane. It was big, yes. However, it wasn’t earth-shattering. It was along the lines of what you’d expect the #1 pick to fetch when the possibility of a franchise quarterback is at stake. As Jimmy Johnson loved to say, the key is not getting the picks. The key is picking good players with the picks. That would become the hard part for Poles. Based on the current evidence, the Bears GM absolutely nailed it.
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He got a bookend tackle, a starting cornerback, a star wide receiver, and a potential franchise quarterback in that deal. One must also not forget he also squeezed a talented punter out of it as well. To think Ryan Poles still has another high pick coming his way, and it could sit atop the 2nd round next year, is insane. No GM in franchise history has pulled off a heist of this magnitude. Jim Finks was the closest with the trades that eventually landed the Bears Dan Hampton and Willie Gault.
If things progress at their current pace, this singular move will go down in franchise history as the greatest of all time.
I don’t think there was anything “objectively hilarious” at all about putting Bryce Young in to finish the game. I’d call it a smart decision to let him get some time in against a good defense. He actually graded out better that the Red Rifle albeit a small sample size. I actually thought the bears could have done that with Bagent for a last drive instead of putting him in to (kneel it?). I thought that was pretty insulting and odd.
Wow! It’s weird; Gena paints an entirely different picture of what Poles did in this trade.
Young’s playing appearance gave Poles a symbolic cigar. What did Stroud beating the Bears provide Poles? A mild headache perhaps. Then we have the big game in a few weeks: Caleb versus Daniels. You can bet Poles will really want that victory with Caleb doing well.
Well, I’m sure not going to peacock about it because I know 100% my F-ing team would have made that exact same deal being on the other end. We’ve wasted plenty of resources trying to find the guy. Bryce Young is going to be a solid QB once he gets away from that owner. The sooner the better, too. Obviously, he doesn’t have the ceiling of Caleb, but he can make all the throws required of an NFL starting QB. There are a few out there right now that can’t. As far as our QB, he just needs to stay… Read more »