I’m not one who likes in-game interviews too much, but I’ll admit they sometimes have something worthwhile to takeaway.
During the Senior Bowl, I found the conversation between Chicago Bears Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy and NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero to be refreshing. It isn’t as if Getsy was giving out secret plans or anything. But when asked if the No. 1 pick (which the Bears currently own) was at the Senior Bowl, Getsy quickly shot down that possibility. Fair enough. However, what happened shortly after that grabbed my attention. And I hardly found it to be a coincidence.
Because after the Getsy interview, the NFL Network Senior Bowl broadcast quickly pivoted to NFL Draft discussion. In doing so, the team of Andrew Siciliano, Bucky Brooks, and Daniel Jeremiah talked shop while a graphic of the top of the draft board was on the screen. Jeremiah began checking off names of teams that are looking for quarterbacks:
I don’t find it to be a coincidence that the NFL Network broadcast trio had this discussion just after chopping it up with Getsy. Nope. Not one bit. But let’s discuss this a bit further.
The Texans and Colts were layup picks. We don’t need to spend much time on those two. But the others? Yeah, this is where it gets juicy for me. The Raiders just saw the potential Josh McDaniels-Tom Brady reunion go into the waste bin after Brady’s retirement earlier in the week. Meanwhile, the Panthers have been traveling down the path of middling veteran signal callers for years. Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, P.J. Walker, Cam Newton, and Teddy Bridgewater started games for Carolina during the Matt Rhule era. That stunk up the joint and is likely the main reason why Rhule is the head football coach at Nebraska now. In other words, a fresh-faced new QB is probably on the horizon for Carolina after hiring Frank Reich.
Which brings me to this: These are all obvious trade partners for the Bears, who have the No. 1 pick and don’t have a need at quarterback. Moreover, Chicago can offer all of these teams the possibility to get the best quarterback on the board if they’re willing to pay a king’s ransom. Additionally, the Bears can create an elevated price tag by drumming up a market of teams with reported interest. The more teams, the merrier. And if GM Ryan Poles can pit four teams against each other, then the sky is the limit for a potential trade return.
No, I don’t think a trade will be done anytime soon. But rumor season will pick up soon, so we might as well brace ourselves for that dance. After all, you don’t have to get ready if you stay ready.