You didn’t think the NFL would go quietly into the weekend before the start of free agency, did you? This just wasn’t the breaking news alert we were all expecting to disrupt a perfectly fine Friday evening. With Aaron Rodgers Watch occupying the football world’s attention, the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers stole the spotlight with a move that will shake up the draft and the quarterback market. Chicago, which had been openly shopping the first pick in the draft, found a buyer in Carolina, which sent over two first-round picks, two second-rounders, and wide receiver D.J. Moore.
With premium picks and a star player involved, this trade is going to reshuffle the offseason plans for both teams. The Panthers are obviously going to draft a quarterback, but which one? The Bears have truly committed to building around Justin Fields, but was this the best way to do it? There are a lot of questions that need answering:
OK, so what was the exact compensation?
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Panthers gave Chicago the no. 9 and no. 61 picks in this year’s draft, a 2024 first-rounder, and a second-round pick in 2025. And to sweeten the pot, they threw in Moore, who is 25 years old and has three 1,110-yard receiving seasons. Moore will help fill the Bears’ massive void at receiver and provide Fields with some much-needed support.
So the Panthers definitely know which quarterback they’re going to draft. You don’t give up all that draft capital to move up if you don’t know, right? RIGHT?!?!
One would assume! But, as a Panthers fan, I would advise you to never assume this franchise is acting rationally. The reason they were forced to make this dramatic move is that they haven’t been acting rationally for the past few years.
Besides, it’s awfully early in the draft process, so maybe it’s for the best if GM Scott Fitterer is still mulling over the options—and according to multiple reports from Panthers beat reporters Friday evening, that is indeed the case:
This move appears less about moving up for one specific player, and more about taking control of the top of the draft.
About those quarterback options: Who are they?
Well, there are four quarterbacks who have been in the discussion to go first overall. And while Kentucky’s Will Levis seems to be the type of quarterback that NFL general managers go for—he’s big and can throw the ball far— he didn’t produce like a quarterback the Panthers typically prefer. We can probably exclude him from the list.
That leaves Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson. All of them are talented and worthy of a top-10 selection in this draft, especially with so many quarterback-needy teams, but I’m not sure any of them would be in consideration to be the no. 1 pick in many drafts.
Young is 5-foot-10 and was probably 95 percent water when he weighed in at 204 pounds at the NFL scouting combine last week, so there are obviously durability concerns. Stroud is an accurate pocket passer, but his playmaking ability out of structure has been questioned, and that’s a big deal in today’s NFL. And then Richardson, who has the highest ceiling in the class and just blew up the combine with his performance in the 40-yard dash and vertical jump, is raw and wasn’t an accurate passer in college.
I don’t have a good read yet for which quarterback the Panthers’ new coaching staff, led by Frank Reich, would have a preference for, but I will say that Richardson is the type of talent who can convince NFL coaches or GMs to make a big move—not unlike what the 49ers did to move up to draft Trey Lance two years ago.
You said you’re a Panthers fan. Do you think this was a good trade?
In a vacuum, no. Definitely not. I don’t think this QB class is strong enough to justify a trade up. But trades don’t happen in a vacuum. Context matters and the context here is that the Panthers haven’t given their fans anything—or anyone—to latch onto since Cam Newton was cut in 2020. No matter which QB they use this pick on, that is going to change the moment Roger Goodell announces the name on draft night. Even if the Panthers aren’t competitive next season, there will be a reason to tune in every week. There will be a reason to have some hope for the future. The fans will finally have a sense of the team’s direction.
Giving up all that draft capital stinks, but it was a price that had to be paid. And the Panthers did have some picks to spare thanks to the Christian McCaffrey trade last year. Even after this trade, Carolina owns six picks in this year’s draft, including three in the top 100. Per Tankathon, they still rank seventh in total draft capital. They’ll be without a first-rounder next season, but it’s just one year without one. Really, giving up Moore might be the toughest part of the trade.
Sure, but building around a young QB without that extra draft capital might make things harder, right?
Sure, but Carolina isn’t rebuilding its offense from scratch. The offensive line is young and could be a top-10 unit as early as next year. The Panthers have plenty of money to spend this offseason if they want to dip into the free-agency market, and they’ll pick four times on day two of this year’s draft, and teams have had plenty of success finding good receiver talent in the second or third rounds. If all else fails, they can just trade for a star receiver—and there are a few who could be available, like Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins, who likely wouldn’t take premium picks to acquire at this point in his career.
I think Carolina will be just fine. And if Reich is as good of a coach as I think he is, the offense and the quarterback they draft will be in good hands.
How about the Bears? Should their fans consider this a W?
Without a doubt. Not only did Chicago add to its cache of picks, but it also filled the biggest need on the roster by acquiring Moore ahead of free agency. Moore is better than any receiver set to become a free agent next week, and Chicago’s GM didn’t have to pay that free agency premium to acquire him. Moore’s average annual salary now ranks 10th at the position, right ahead of the aging Keenan Allen. Now, Chicago still has some work to do on its receiver room, but the extra draft capital will aid that process, and it can now focus on other positions of need when free agency kicks off next week.
Bears GM Ryan Poles probably could have held out a little longer and tried to drive up the price, but I’m not sure they could have found a better deal. This one allows them to stay in the top 10 this year while also adding a talented player at a premium position.
How does Moore feel about the trade?
I’d say he was a little surprised:
And what are the financial implications for Carolina with Moore’s contract being moved?
One of the perks of trading for players: You don’t have to take on the guaranteed portions of the contract, which stick with the player’s previous team. The Panthers will be on the hook for the rest of Moore’s signing bonus, which will result in a $14.6 million dead cap charge in 2023. The Bears will take on the three remaining years of Moore’s deal, which will pay him about $50.6 million over that time.
Moore is really good, right? That seems like a dumb thing to do.
Yes, Moore is really good. He gets open, he catches the football consistently, and he’s a terror after the catch. He’s not an elite WR by any means, but he can do a decent impression of one on his best days. So, yeah, it’s certainly not a good thing to give away talent, but the Panthers wanted the first overall pick, and that comes with a big price tag.
What ripple effects will this have on the draft—and possibly free agency?
I doubt it will have much of an impact on free agency outside of Chicago. There is one less QB-needy team to potentially get in the mix for Lamar Jackson, but Carolina always seemed more likely to pursue a rookie QB or a cheap veteran option—the latter might still be the case if the coaching staff, which also includes Josh McCown as quarterbacks coach, wants to be patient with a young QB’s development.
As for the draft, this feels like the first of several dominoes to fall. The Texans will likely stay put at 2 and take a quarterback, so if any other team wants to jump up the board to take QB3, it will have to work out a deal with the Cardinals. That puts pressure on the desperate Colts at pick no. 4. If the Colts don’t want to settle for whichever quarterback is left over, they’ll probably have to make a deal with Arizona to avoid that fate.
The offseason is already off to a wild start, but it will only get more chaotic from here.
