INDIANAPOLIS — Colts general manager Chris Ballard pushed back against the idea that the only way for them to cement a starting quarterback for the next decade is to trade up with the Bears and draft him No. 1 overall.
“To move up, there’s gotta be a guy worthy of it, OK? . . .” Ballard, a former Bears front-office employee, said Wednesday at the NFL Scouting Combine. “Everybody has just automatically stamped that you gotta move up to one to get it right. I don’t know if I agree with that. I don’t. But that’s going to be the narrative. . . .
“I don’t necessarily know if that’s the right course of business.”
Perhaps Ballard is posturing. The Colts have the No. 4 overall pick and are the team most commonly linked to a trade with the Bears. The rationale for a deal — that the Bears could then draft a standout defender at No. 4 — took a hit Wednesday when warrants were issued for the arrest of star Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter.
Alabama’s Bryce Young is considered the top quarterback of the draft entering the combine, though Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud and Kentucky’s Will Levis have their supporters.
Ballard said that he’s not “ready to say” that there’s one quarterback that has stood out as a slam-dunk pick worthy of trading up.
“Who’s to say we won’t get one at four?” he said.
Making the grade
The Bears finished 13th out of 32 teams in the NFLPA’s first-ever team report card, which measures each club’s amenities and staff. The survey of about 1,300 players was created to help players make free-agent decisions and to improve league standards.
The Bears received a D+ in quality of training-table food — although that was merely tied for 18th place — and a C- in support for players’ families. The NFLPA said the Bears are one of 11 teams that don’t offer daycare.
Travel received a C- from Bears players. They’re one of seven teams that don’t have first-class airplane seating for players. Bears players do not have roommates on the road.
The union said Bears players flagged the tempo of practices and workouts as problematic; coach Matt Eberflus was docked one practice last offseason for exceeding the acceptable physicality required by the collective bargaining agreement.
Bears players gave their weight room an A, their strength staff an A-, their training room an A+ and their training staff an A-. Players gave the renovated Halas Hall locker room an A.
In the family
Iowa defensive end Lukas Van Ness has one reason to want to play for the Bears: he’s dating tight end Cole Kmet’s little sister, Frankie.
“It’d be fun to play alongside him,” he said.
The Barrington High School alum never started a game at Iowa but could still be a first-round pick next month.
He led the Hawkeyes with 11 tackles for loss and was named second-team all-Big Ten last year.
