Potential Bears trade sees Panthers land C.J. Stroud to kick off Frank Reich-era
The Chicago Bears finished the 2022-2023 season with the worst record in the NFL at 3-14, earning them the number one overall pick in the NFL draft.
While second-year quarterback Justin Fields showed signs of improvement, he was hurt for a few games, and the team only managed to win three games. He has improved in every category, but has just 2,242 yards and 17 touchdowns in 15 games.
There were questions surrounding what the Bears would do with the number one overall pick - trade it, select a defensive player, or select a new franchise quarterback.
Reports this morning surfaced that the Bears have made a decision to commit to Fields and will try to trade the number one overall pick.
The #Bears have decided to go ahead with Justin Fields as the franchise QB and will try to trade the 1st overall pick in the draft instead of drafting a quarterback prospect, according to @AlbertBreer
Fields impressed the Bears organization on how he handled the 2022 season https://t.co/aliCw3F8xV
The Bears also confirmed the news themselves on January 10, 2023. Bears GM Ryan Poles confirmed that the team is committed to Fields as the team's starter in 2023.
Poles said, via Josh Schrock:
"Yeah. As it pertains to the No. 1 pick. We are going to do the same as we have always done. We are going to evaluate the entire draft class."
Ryan Poles asked if Justin Fields would be his starter in 2023.
"Yeah."
As it pertains to the No. 1 pick.
"We are going to do the same as we have always done. We are going to evaluate the entire draft class"
Many QB-needy teams will look to inquire about the number one overall pick, such as the rebuilding Carolina Panthers, who are in a new regime under head coach Frank Reich.
With Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud projected as the number one overall pick, there will be multiple teams interested in drafting and acquiring him.
Proposed trade
The Panthers will have to jump up eight spots to acquire the number-one overall pick from the Chicago Bears. The Bears will likely ask for multiple first-round picks from a team.
The Panthers' pick is in the top-10 of this year's draft and will likely swap picks with the Bears, as well as adding a few more picks. Here's a hypothetical trade the two teams could make:
Bears get Panthers' 2023 No. 9 overall pick, 2024 first-round pick, and 2023 third-round pick, 2024 fifth-round pick
Panthers get 2023 No. 1 overall pick
Why the Panthers should trade for Bears' #1 overall pick
The Panthers are in a new regime with former quarterback Frank Reich taking the helm at head coach. They should be aggressive in their rebuild, selecting a franchise quarterback as they shuffled through the play of Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and PJ Walker last season.
The Panthers also have a lot of capital in this year's draft as they will own an extra second, third, and fourth-round pick in this year's draft due to the Christian McCaffrey trade. They could use some of those picks to help with sending a big package to the Bears, or they could save those picks and add more picks in next year's draft to send Chicago.
Winners and losers from the trade
Both the Bears and Panthers will be winners of the proposed trade.
The Bears could save a little money by not having to spend as much on the number one overall-pick while acquiring more talent in this year's and next year's draft to help build the team up and surround pieces around Justin Fields.
The Panthers will get the best QB in the draft that newly acquired head coach Frank Reich can help develop.
The loser of this trade would be the Houston Texans, who own the second-overall pick. The Texans will, most likely, draft a quarterback and would select their second choice at the position if Carolina swooped in and selected Stroud.