So, uh, you think the Chicago Bears may have an extra first-round pick sitting around for the Carolina Panthers?
With the NFL’s trade deadline less than two weeks away, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox recently named a few possible landing spots for some of the top potentially available players. In at No. 2 on his big board is Panthers outside linebacker Brian Burns, who may have a fit in The Windy City if he’s not long for Charlotte.
Knox writes:
With Burns set to be a free agent in the spring, Carolina may be willing to come down on its asking price some. If so, the Chicago Bears could be interested.
Their top priority is finding a permanent answer at quarterback—and given Justin Fields’ thumb injury and up-and-down play—it may have to come in the 2024 draft. However, the Bears also need defensive help, have two first-round picks next year and have $95.8 million in projected 2024 cap space.
Well, what a coincidence!
The Bears got one of those first-rounders from the Panthers back in March, when they gave Carolina control of the 2023 draft in exchange for a pricey package. That haul included the ninth and 61st picks from this spring, that upcoming 2024 first-rounder, a 2025 second-rounder and wideout DJ Moore.
Now, there’s absolutely no chance Chicago would give Carolina their first-rounder back—even in a trade for one of the league’s premier pass rushers. As of now, the Panthers’ 0-6 record—in a painfully ironic twist—has the Bears currently atop the 2024 draft queue.
So, if Burns were to somehow rejoin Moore in these upcoming days, it won’t be at the cost of rejoining the Panthers with that pretty piece of draft capital.
