Chicago Bears face Panthers as fall out from 2023 blockbuster trade continues to impact both teams
The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers will be forever linked, at least through the next decade.
The invisible string tying the two franchises was the 2023 trade that sent the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft to Carolina.
In exchange, the Bears received the No. 9 overall pick in the 2023 draft, a first-round pick in 2024, second-round picks in 2023 and 2025 and star receiver DJ Moore. The way it still impacts both franchises today is remarkable, let alone the way it all fell together.
"A lot of that is luck, a lot of it you can’t predict, but it’s also putting yourself in position," Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said. "Ryan Poles and his staff did a great job of that. There are a couple of players we could have been going for at the time and I am sure glad we got DJ. It worked out well and we have to keep working and getting better as a football team."
It's even more remarkable that this isn't the first time the two franchises have taken inventory of the fall out of the trade.
The Bears beat the Panthers 16-13 last season. It was a win that helped secure the worst record in the league for Carolina, and it was a win that meant plenty to Moore.
For Moore, getting last year's win means this year doesn't hold much water.
"It was enough last year," Moore said. "I don't really care this year."
It still means plenty to the Bears. After all, the Bears are still reaping the benefits.
They'll have Carolina's second-round pick in the 2025 draft, giving them three picks in the first two days.
"I haven't really sat down and looked at the pieces we got," Moore said. "We really did. Shout out to Poles for that. It was a really good trade."
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 29: DJ Moore #2 and Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears celebrate after their touchdown connection against the Los Angeles Rams during the third quarter at Soldier Field on September 29, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (P
Plenty of Bears fans understand that trade is a reason the Bears have Caleb Williams.
"I know about it, a little bit," Williams said. "I'm not too deep into the history of what happened, but I do know it got us a bunch of different things, DJ and picks, and myself included."
As it stands, the trade brought the Bears: Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson, Tory Taylor, Williams and Moore. Those are all pieces that factor in the immediate and long-term future of the team.
Stevenson had the game-winning touchdown on a pick-six against Tennessee. Wright is going to be a long-term part of the offensive line. Taylor was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week Wednesday. Moore earned a massive contract extension this offseason.
Williams, of course, could change the Bears' luck at quarterback which has hampered the team since its inception.
The Bears saw that future come together last Sunday when Moore and Williams connected on a nine-yard touchdown in the second half of the win over the Rams.
"I was proud of those guys the way they worked together during the game," Eberflus said. "Those guys are working. It paid off, it paid off with a good touchdown grab in the back of the endzone. That’s always going to be a work in progress with all the skillsets. Like I said after the game on Monday, the guys are working because the coverages change, the people covering them change."
The string that ties the Bears and Panthers together will unravel a little bit more on Sunday. This time, former Bears' quarterback Andy Dalton will be starting instead of former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, the player the Panthers traded all those assets to the Bears to draft in 2023.
When its all said and done, it might be one of the most lopsided trades in league history.
"It’s a good collection of players we have here," Williams said.