NFL combine: Here’s what Chicago Bears’ potential trade partners are saying

INDIANAPOLIS – There’s no shortage of quarterback-needy teams in the NFL, and general manager Ryan Poles and the Bears hold all the power.

With the No. 1 overall pick, the draft runs through Chicago. If the Bears want USC quarterback Caleb Williams, he’s theirs to take. Bears fans can rejoice, too, because Williams made it clear in an interview with ESPN that he would love to play in Chicago. Or they can carry on with current starting quarterback Justin Fields.

In either scenario, the Bears have tantalizing trade options. If they draft Williams, they appear likely to trade Fields. Poles even talked about the possibility this week. If they keep Fields, they could trade the No. 1 pick to another quarterback-needy team. That would net a huge haul.

“We will gather the information, we will move as quickly as possible, we are not going to be in a rush and see what presents itself and what’s best for the organization,” Poles said.

No matter what happens, the Bears are in a good position to make their team better. But it takes two to tango. If either trade is going to happen, the Bears need to find a trade partner who would be willing to make a deal.

Here’s what some of the Bears potential trade partners are saying this week at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Washington Commanders

If there’s any team that has the resources and the motivation to trade up for the No. 1 pick, it might be Washington. Williams grew up in Washington, D.C. Drafting the hometown kid would have some appeal for the Commanders, who have two second-round picks and two third-round picks in the 2024 draft.

The wild card here is that the Commanders have a first-year general manager in Adam Peters. Nobody knows exactly what Peters is going to prioritize during his first year on the job. Is it worth trading away huge assets in order to move up one spot in the draft for a quarterback? Certainly the Commanders have many more areas of need in addition to QB.

If the Bears do look to move the first pick, Peters wants to be involved.

“You always want to be involved in all those things,” Peters said. “Whether you actually pull the trigger or not, that’s when you gather all your information and make the best decision for the team.”

The Commanders hired Kliff Kingsbury as their offensive coordinator. Kingsbury worked with Williams last season at USC. Peters said his conversations with Kingsbury haven’t centered on Williams.

“Kliff and I haven’t talked too much about him,” Peters said. “We really just talked about the quarterback play in general and what he looks for in quarterbacks and how we can find that right fit for him if that’s what we’re going to do. Certainly, that hasn’t been decided by any stretch of the imagination.”

Kliff [Kingsbury] and I haven’t talked too much about [Caleb Williams]. We really just talked about the quarterback play in general and what he looks for in quarterbacks and how we can find that right fit for him if that’s what we’re going to do.”

—  Adam Peters, Washington Commanders general manager

Atlanta Falcons

First-year Falcons head coach Raheem Morris didn’t beat around the bush.

“If we had better quarterback play last year in Atlanta, I might not be standing here,” Morris said.

His predecessor, Arthur Smith, couldn’t figure out the quarterback position and lost his job because of it. But the Falcons have a decent collection of skill-position players, and they appear to be one of the teams that is just a quarterback away from contention.

On top of that, Fields grew up outside of Atlanta. The Falcons have been a popular prediction to trade for Fields. In fact, most sports betting sites list the Falcons as the favorite to land Fields. They have a high second-round pick (43rd overall), as well as two third-round picks. Their first-round pick (No. 8 overall) might be out of range for a top QB prospect.

But they appear to be confident that quarterback is their biggest need.

“Let’s go out there and find out who’s going to be the trigger man for us and put ourselves in position to win,” Morris said. “I’m not afraid to say that we have the ability and we’re capable to go out there and win next year. If we do some of the right things, some of the right moves, we can go out and do that.”

New England Patriots

Nobody really knows what the Patriots are going to do at quarterback. They have Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe under contract, but neither showed enough promise last season. The Patriots sit at No. 3 in the draft order. That would likely put them outside the running for Williams or North Carolina’s Drake Maye. Even so, they’re well within striking distance to make a deal if they want to move up.

They also feel like a candidate to trade for Fields. The Patriots have a high second-round pick (34th overall), and they’re in the AFC.

Patriots director of scouting (and de facto GM) Eliot Wolf and head coach Jerod Mayo are plotting a path forward now that Bill Belichick is gone. Wolf called this draft “a really good year for quarterbacks.”

“We’re pretty early in the process here, like I haven’t met any these guys, Jerod hasn’t met these guys,” Wolf said. “As we continue through the process here, we’ll determine what’s best for the team. And you know, one thing about the quarterbacks in this draft specifically that I’m excited about is they all look like they’re really tough guys, which is obviously great at any position, but the quarterback position, especially.”

Wolf noted that the Patriots could have a reliance on young players in 2024, which seems to indicate they might be looking at this as a long-term fix. They certainly don’t feel like they’re only a quarterback away in the same way the Falcons do.