Panthers to pick No. 1 after deal with Bears
The Carolina Panthers are on the clock.
The Panthers have traded up to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in the draft from the Chicago Bears in exchange for Carolina's No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025 and star wide receiver D.J. Moore, two people familiar with the deal said Friday.
The deal is expected to be announced Wednesday, when the NFL's free-agent signing period begins.
The move allows the Panthers to acquire a potential franchise quarterback — the sort of player the team has coveted for years — although it remains unclear which QB Carolina prefers. The Bears are committed to Justin Fields at quarterback and that gave them leverage to trade down.
Carolina has its choice of Alabama's Bryce Young, Ohio State's CJ Stroud, Kentucky's Will Levis or Florida's Anthony Richardson — the consensus top four quarterbacks in the draft. The Panthers are considering up to three quarterbacks, one of the sources said.
The Panthers may not have gotten the QB they wanted if they had stayed at No. 9.
“You go get the guy that you want, you know,” Panthers GM Scott Fitterer said last week at the scouting combine about potentially trading up for a quarterback. “If you have a conviction on a guy, you go get him.”
Moore gives the Bears a solid receiver to pair with Fields, who lacked reliable downfield options but leaned on his legs and playmaking ability during an electrifying second season. Fields ran for 1,143 yards and the Bears led the league in rushing, but finished at the bottom in passing.
Moore was considered a must-have by the Bears, one of the sources said, and without him, the deal would not have been completed.
Moore has caught 364 passes for 5,201 yards with 21 TDs in five seasons.
• Adam Thielen, who grew up in Minnesota, was released for salary-cap relief, nearly 10 years after he latched on with the Vikings as an undrafted underdog.
Thielen was carrying the second-largest cap hit on the club behind quarterback Kirk Cousins. The move will stick the Vikings with more than $13.5 million in dead money for 2023, but they created $6.4 million in additional space by cutting him.
Thielen has 55 TDs and 534 catches — both third most in franchise history.
• Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy confirmed that the team granted the Jets permission to talk with Aaron Rodgers and would honor a trade request if the four-time MVP quarterback makes one.
Rodgers, 39, has said since the end of the season that he's still deciding whether to return to the Packers, request a trade or retire. Rodgers also has noted the possibility the Packers might want to move on and hand the starting quarterback job to 2020 first-round draft pick Jordan Love.
• Devin McCourty has only known one home during his NFL career since being selected by the Patriots as a first-round draft pick out of Rutgers in 2010.
Three Super Bowl rings and 13 seasons later, he's walking away from the sport as one of the Patriots' most decorated and respected players on and off the field.
The 35-year-old veteran safety announced his retirement in an Instagram video, calling his career “a great ride.”
He was selected as a second-team All-Pro three times (2010, 2013, 2016) and garnered two Pro Bowl selections, finishing with 35 career interceptions, 938 tackles, three sacks, 110 pass breakups, 11 forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.
• The Eagles signed veteran defensive end Brandon Graham to a one-year contract worth up to $6 million.
Graham, who was eligible to become a free agent next week, enters next season on the brink of setting Philadelphia's career record for games played. Graham has played in 178 games with the Eagles and is behind only kicker David Akers (188 games), safety Brian Dawkins (183) and wide receiver Harold Carmichael (180) for the record.
• The Titans continued the renovation of their offensive line, releasing 11-year veteran center Ben Jones a year after signing him to a two-year extension. He after he failed a physical.
In other news, the Titans signed five-time Pro Bowl long snapper Morgan Cox to a one-year extension.
• The Dolphins are picking up the fifth-year option on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's contract, according to a source.
Tagovailoa, drafted fifth overall in 2020, will enter the fourth year of his rookie deal this upcoming season and will be guaranteed $23.2 million.
Tagovailoa set careerhighs in passing touchdowns, passing yards and passer rating in a breakout 2022 season that included a couple of concussions. He led the Dolphins to an 9-8 record, a second-place finish in the AFC East and their first playoff berth since 2016.