The 2023 NFL Combine is in the books, and with the fantastic performances by the projected first-round quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft, the trade market for the Chicago Bears and the No. 1 overall pick is heating up.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, teams are “scrambling” to make a trade for the first pick. It feels like only a matter of time before GM Ryan Poles swings a blockbuster deal for the Bears.
As for a timeline for when a trade could take place? Rapoport said he expects trade talks to “heat up over the next couple of weeks.” Translation? If the Chicago Bears plan on trading the No. 1 overall pick, they’ll do it before free agency.
The two-day free agency negotiation window opens on March 13. Teams can officially sign free agents at the start of the new league year at 4 pm EST on March 15. The Bears have the most salary cap space in the NFL this year, and if Poles wants to know the best way to spend it, he has to know what 2023 NFL Draft picks he has so he can plan his strategy.
The Bears won’t have any shortage of teams trying to trade up for the No. 1 pick. The Houston Texans (No. 2), Indianapolis Colts (No. 4), Las Vegas Raiders (No. 7), Atlanta Falcons (No. 8), and Carolina Panthers (No. 9) all have a glaring need at quarterback and have been rumored to be interested in moving up.
Alabama’s Bryce Young was the presumed top quarterback in the class at the start of the NFL Combine, but Florida’s Anthony Richardson put his name in the QB1 conversation with a freakish display of athleticism and arm talent. Kentucky’s Will Levis helped himself, as did Ohio State’s CJ Stroud.
The biggest winner from the NFL Combine was the Chicago Bears, who soon enough will leverage the No. 1 pick for a haul of franchise-changing selections.
