NFL News

[Futureshock]

NFL buried rules proposals from teams into free-agency frenzy

Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2023, 9:41 AM EDT

Getty Images

When it comes to the deliberate disclosure of significant information by a multi-billion-dollar organization, there are no coincidences and there are no accidents.

This week, the NFL chose to drop the array of team-based rule proposals into the late afternoon of the first de facto day of free agency for a reason. And that reason surely wasn’t to shed maximum light on the nine items submitted by the various teams.

They (whoever “they” are) knew that the media would be focused on the rapid-fire flurry of transactions. They knew that the fans would be doing the same. As a result, the nine proposals got far less attention than they would have received.

The most obvious reason for this would seem to be that the league wants to downplay the proposals not being made by the Competition Committee. Those are the official proposals, and if the Competition Committee were behind any of the nine proposals that were made by teams, those proposals would have appeared on the list of potential rule changes made directly by the Committee.

The Competition Committee’s proposals will presumably arrive within the next week or so. (In past years, the Competition Committee’s proposals and team’s proposals were released at the same time.) And those proposals surely will land at a time when far more attention will be paid to whatever the suggested changes may be.

At the end of the day, the owners will do whatever they do — as long as at least 24 of them want to do it. By releasing the team proposals at a time when they are less likely to get real traction, the proposals not officially sanctioned by the Competition Committee have less of a chance to take on a life of their own in the media, and in turn to catch the attention of a critical mass of owners.

[chemiclord]

I love the idea that somehow the media is going to pressure owners into doing anything they don't already want to do; or that the owners aren't already keenly aware of what they're peers are proposing unless someone in the media brings it to their attention.

Florio sure seems to have an inflated opinion of his work, doesn't he?

[Futureshock]

Jonah Williams asks Bengals to trade him

Posted by Josh Alper on March 17, 2023, 10:45 AM EDT

Getty Images

The Bengals plan to play the newly signed Orlando Brown at left tackle and that’s not sitting all that well with the player who has been manning the position.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Jonah Williams has told the Bengals that he wants to be traded. Williams has started all 47 games he’s played for the Bengals over the last three seasons.

That run does not include the last two games the Bengals played in last season’s playoffs as a knee injury kept him out of the lineup. Williams had knee surgery in February to address that issue and is expected to be fully cleared at some point in the spring.

Williams is set to make $12.6 million in the fifth and final year of his rookie contract. We’ll find out in the near future if the Bengals or someone else will be paying that salary.

[Futureshock]

Tom Brady reiterates love for football, but says it’s time to be a dad

Posted by Mike Florio on March 17, 2023, 2:00 PM EDT

Getty Images

Tom Brady is retired. Again. And it remains impossible to assume he’ll won’t come back. Again.

Via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Brady addressed his status this last night at an event in connection with one of his various non-FTX off-field enterprises.

“There is nothing I love more than football,” Brady said, “but I have young children and they watched enough of their dad’s games and it’s time for me to watch their games.”

That’s not exactly the kind of unwavering, unshakable, irrevocable commitment to retirement that will keep him from waking up one day in June or July and deciding that he’s checked enough boxes to return to football without credibly being accused of being a bad father.

At this point, of course, the problem is that the seats are filling up. The 49ers added Sam Darnold. The Dolphins added Mike White. He done with the Buccaneers. Where else is there a potentially contending team that would scrap its current plans for a season with Brady?

Washington? Tennessee? Detroit? Indy?

Brady would likely have to be willing to accept a bargain-basement deal, if he decides to come back in June or July. Of course, if he decides to unretire for a second time, it won’t be for gathering money today. It will be about avoiding regret later.

When he’s 50, 60, 70, 80. Will he believe he got every ounce from his talents? Or will he be tormented be regret that he didn’t keep going?

I wouldn’t bet on Brady coming back this year. But I’ll definitely bet on Brady regretting it in five, 15, 25, and 35 years if he doesn’t.

[Futureshock]

Javon Hargrave: NFC Championship Game would have been different with healthy Brock Purdy

Posted by Josh Alper on March 20, 2023, 8:56 AM EDT

Getty Images

Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave joined the 49ers last week, but he was on the other side of the field when his new team played its final game of last season.

Hargrave played for the Eagles for the last seven seasons, so he was on hand for Philadelphia’s 31-7 win over the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The outlook for that game changed early in the proceedings when Brock Purdy injured his elbow and then got even worse for the Niners when Josh Johnson was also injured.

During an appearance on KNBR, Hargrave said he believes things would have played out differently with better health for the 49ers quarterbacks.

“We kind of knew it was going to be different when all you can do is run the ball, when both quarterbacks go out, and you know exactly what you’re trying to do,” Hargrave said, via 49ersWebzone.com. “Of course, it made it a lot easier for us. . . . Trust me, we’ve seen the film on Brock escaping. We knew it was going to be a challenge trying to get to him, so it would have been, definitely, a different game if he had stayed up.”

It’s unclear exactly when Purdy will be healthy enough to return to action, but the 49ers are hopeful that Hargrave’s addition will help ensure the team is strong enough to make another deep playoff run regardless of who is under center come the fall.

[Futureshock]

Eagles propose requiring game clocks to display tenths of seconds

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 20, 2023, 8:02 AM EDT

Getty Images

Decades ago, the NFL replaced analog scoreboard clocks that displayed the time remaining in games on clock hands and dials with digital scoreboard clocks that counted down the seconds with numerals. Now the Eagles would like another scoreboard advancement.

One of the proposed changes to NFL playing rules brought forward last week was a proposal by the Eagles to require game clocks to display tenths of seconds for the final 30 seconds of each half.

Using tenths of a second is already done in basketball and some other sports, for those last-minute situations when the difference between 2.9 seconds remaining and 2.0 seconds remaining might be significant. The Eagles want to bring it to the NFL as well.

The precise wording of the Eagles’ proposed addition to NFL bylaws is: “The game clocks will display game time in accordance with all NFL Playing Rules and will count down in one second increments except in the last 30 seconds of the 2nd and 4th quarter, when the clocks will transition to a countdown in tenths of seconds.”

Will the proposal be adopted? One potential problem, according to Kalyn Kahler of TheAthletic.com, is that many scoreboards in the NFL use fixed-digits displays that would need to be replaced to properly show time remaining in tenths of seconds. Some owners may balk at that expense.

The Eagles’ proposal would need the support of at least 24 of the 32 owners to pass.

[Futureshock]

Real story. He is a distant cousin from Texas. And we're related to George Foreman. (4th cousin).

Regardless, I hope we aren't letting him run for 160 yds when we see him again.



D’Onta Foreman glad to show he’s more than Derrick Henry’s or Christian McCaffrey’s backup

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 20, 2023, 6:52 AM EDT

Getty Images

Over the last two years, D'Onta Foreman has started 12 games, but only in the absence of two of the best running backs in the NFL: He started three games in Tennessee in 2021 when Derrick Henry was injured, and he started nine games in Carolina in 2022 after Christian McCaffrey was traded.

Now Foreman has arrived in Chicago as a free agent, and he says he thinks he’s shown that he deserves to be a starter.

“When I knew I had the opportunity to be the guy, I tried to do it to the best of my ability,” Foreman said. “I opened some eyes to show what I bring to the table. I want to build on that and continue to grow.”

Foreman said he was proud that the Titans’ and Panthers’ running games didn’t fall apart when he filled in for Henry and McCaffrey.

“I can play just as good as some of the best people in the league,” he said. “I think I’m right there with those guys.”

Will Foreman be the guy in Chicago? He knows Khalil Herbert returns from last year’s team, and he also knows that Justin Fields is one of the NFL’s best runners at the quarterback position. But Foreman says he intends to be the guy for the Bears.

“I came here to try to be the guy,” Foreman said. “If I didn’t come here with that mentality I’d be doing myself a disservice and doing the team a disservice.”

[Futureshock]

Ronald Jones, Chuma Edoga, Travin Howard to visit Cowboys on Monday

Posted by Charean Williams on March 19, 2023, 11:14 PM EDT

Getty Images

The Cowboys will have three free agents visiting their practice facility Monday.

Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News reports that running back Ronald Jones, linebacker Travin Howard and offensive lineman Chuma Edoga will undergo physicals and meet with key personnel at The Star.

The Cowboys have not signed any free agents from other teams yet. They did add receiver Brandin Cooks and cornerback Stephon Gilmore in trades.

Dallas has holes to fill, having released running back Ezekiel Elliott last week, and seeing linebacker Luke Gifford and left guard Connor McGovern leave in free agency.

Jones, 25, entered the NFL as a second-round pick with the Bucs in 2018. He spent four seasons in Tampa before joining the Chiefs in 2022 but saw action on only 38 snaps in six games.

Jones’ lack of special teams’ experience was the reason he was inactive most of the season, including in two of the team’s three postseason games.

Howard, who had a core muscle injury sideline him much of last season, played for Cowboys’ special teams coach John Fassel with the Rams.

Edoga, a third-round pick of the Jets in 2019, has appeared in 26 games with 13 starts.

[Futureshock]

We're gonna have to go through them at some point....

Panthers announce agreement with Adam Thielen

Posted by Charean Williams on March 19, 2023, 7:39 PM EDT

Getty Images

Free agent receiver Adam Thielen has found a new home.

Nine days after the Vikings released him, Thielen has agreed to terms with the Panthers. He announced the deal on Instagram just before the team did. Thielen visited Carolina last week.

The Panthers needed to rebuild their receiving corps after trading DJ Moore to the Bears as part of the deal for the No. 1 overall pick, which will deliver a franchise quarterback. Carolina now has seven receivers on their roster, including Terrace Marshall, Jr., Laviska Shenault, and Shi Smith.

The team also has interest in signing free agent receiver D.J. Chark.

In 2022, Thielen caught 70 passes for 716 yards and six touchdowns.

The two-time Pro Bowler has 6,682 yards and 55 touchdowns in his career.

[whatever_gong82]

Breaking this article into 2 parts.

I don't give a rip about the New England Patriots, but I thought that this Athletic article is worthwhile for discussion:




‘He’s Bill Belichick 2.0’: Could Jerod Mayo become the next Patriots coach?

Chad Graff

Mar 20, 2023



The 39-word statement was posted at 7:24 p.m. ET on a Thursday night in mid-January.

A franchise so often cloaked in secrecy offered a glimpse of transparency after a disappointing 8-9 season. The message was deemed so important that the team opted to go live with the statement at dinnertime rather than waiting until the following morning.

The New England Patriots and Head Coach Bill Belichick have begun contract extension discussions with Jerod Mayo that would keep him with the team long-term. In addition, the team will begin interviewing for offensive coordinator candidates beginning next week.

News headlines were quickly crafted about the latter half of the statement: the Patriots were going to hire a new offensive coordinator, notable because of the title itself and the suggestion of parting ways with Matt Patricia. New England eventually rehired Bill O’Brien for the role.






The more meaningful long-term development for one of North America’s most successful sports franchises was initially covered as an afterthought, but the rest of the league took note of the Mayo update. He had been asked by the Carolina Panthers to interview for their vacant head-coaching job. Now he was staying in New England and turning down a shot at fulfilling his self-proclaimed dream of becoming a head coach.





“When he turned those guys down, I understood without even talking to him what went on,” said Kevin Faulk, a friend and former teammate.

What went on, people close to Mayo believe, was a profession of support from Patriots ownership, perhaps an implicit indication of what could lie ahead for him — and for the franchise.




Belichick, who turns 71 next month, is 19 victories away from surpassing Don Shula for the most total wins in NFL history. If he intended to retire afterward, as some believe he will, who might be the right person to handle the daunting task of succeeding the greatest coach of all time?

The Kraft family — Robert has been the Patriots’ principal owner since 1994 and son Jonathan has been team president since 2005 — thinks highly of Mayo. Belichick is fond of him. Former teammates revere him. Coaching colleagues praise him.




“They definitely know they have something here and don’t want to let him go,” Rob Ninkovich, a former teammate, said of Patriots ownership.

What they have is a man capable of leading a locker room of professional athletes and discussing investments with hedge-fund executives. Someone who hangs out with Harvard business professors, ballet composers and “Jeopardy!” winners in his free time. Someone who only five years ago was working with the board of a major healthcare company and still theorizes about how blockchain technology could solve the healthcare backlog.






But he’s also so good at the X’s and O’s of football that he has become one of Belichick’s most trusted assistants. A fierce former linebacker who was named the league’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2008 and an All-Pro two years later, with a Super Bowl ring from his playing days and a rapid ascension up the coaching ladder.

“Some people, I don’t know what it is, have that it factor. And he’s got it,” said Brandon Spikes, a former teammate. “He makes everyone around him better. He’s a perfect human being. If I had a son, I’d want him to be just like Jerod Mayo.”





When Mayo first arrived in New England in 2008, he entered a locker room filled with Pro Bowlers and future Hall of Famers: Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Tedy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel. He was just a rookie — albeit the second-highest draft pick of the Belichick era, taken 10th overall out of Tennessee — but when Mayo heard the stars complaining about wear and tear during the season, he felt the need to stick up for them.

“The guys are tired,” he’d say on occasional visits to Belichick’s office. “They’re beat-up from practice. Maybe we can take it easy today?”





Most of the time Belichick told him to go away. But about 30 percent of the time, Mayo estimated, he’d relent. And on those days, Mayo would eagerly head back to the locker room to share the news with his teammates.

“And it was like an eruption,” Mayo told Gautam Mukunda, a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. “Literally, they would pick me up and throw me on their shoulders.”




He was named a team captain in his second season, 23 years old and one of the leaders of a star-studded roster.

Ninkovich arrived in New England before that 2009 season as a castoff who had only played in eight NFL games over the last three seasons. The first player who introduced himself was Mayo, who offered thoughts on the playbook and simple advice like where to get lunch. Ninkovich was impressed, but, somewhat embarrassingly, didn’t know anything about Mayo. So he asked the defending Defensive Rookie of the Year how long he’d been in the NFL.




“I assumed this was like his eighth year,” Ninkovich said. “He just had that presence about him. I thought he was a veteran because of how he carried himself.”





Ninkovic was so impressed with Mayo that he moved in next door on Neff Drive in Foxboro. They’d play “FIFA” — Mayo usually won — and talk football late into the night. For some players, reaching the NFL means football becoming really difficult for the first time. The schemes are more complex, the checks are more important and everything happens more quickly.

When Ninkovich didn’t understand something, he just asked Mayo, and Mayo always had the answer.

“With his mind and the knowledge he has, it was just a given that he’d get into coaching because it’s teaching,” Ninkovich said. “As far as on-field quickness, he is the smartest guy that I had ever been around. His ability to decipher formations and bark out calls and get people lined up — he was by far the fastest and best that I’ve ever been around.”



Spikes arrived in New England as a second-round pick in 2010. He wanted to make a good impression, so for the first few months, he came into the team’s facility well before his first meeting. And yet every time he pulled into the parking lot, he saw Mayo’s car already there, often next to Brady’s — the two early birds.




The next day, Spikes got to the facility even earlier, determined to beat Mayo into the building. Eventually, he gave it up. It never happened.

“When they talk of the ‘Patriot Way,’ I think of Jerod Mayo,” Spikes said. “That guy never left for vacations in the offseason. He was the first one in the building and the last one out.”

Mayo made teammates laugh with a Belichick impression they swore was perfect. But they also leaned on him for information, occasionally too intimidated to ask Belichick about the defensive game plan.



continued..

[whatever_gong82]

“Even though we were playing next to each other, Jerod was my coach,” Spikes said. “I knew I could go to him and get the details for what we were trying to get done, and he could deliver it to me just as Belichick would. Even as a player, he was already a coach.”

Mukunda, the Harvard fellow whose research has focused on how organizations select high-impact leaders, was asked by a mutual friend to meet with Mayo toward the end of his playing career.



Mukunda didn’t know much about Mayo, but he figured the meeting was to help walk a professional athlete through some personal finance decisions. They got a drink at Sip Wine Bar near Boston Common. Mukunda thought it was going to be a 30-minute talk. They stayed for three hours, with Mayo walking him through decisions he’d already made as an angel investor.

“By the end, I was like, ‘Wait, can I invest with you?’” Mukunda said.






Every month, Mukunda organizes a dinner for interesting minds in the area, bringing together people from different walks of life who wouldn’t ordinarily meet. He invited Mayo and a small group of others to a tour of a new exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art and dinner at Del Frisco’s. At dinner, Mayo sat between William Forsythe, a renowned ballet choreographer, and Rodney Zemmel, the leader of McKinsey & Company’s digital division.

“And he could talk to both of them on even terms,” Mukunda said. “That’s part of the magic of Jerod.”




As part of his research, Mukunda has studied the qualities that make for the best leaders, writing two books on leadership selection. If he were picking a coach for a football team?

“There are a lot of people who can do X’s and O’s, but what the research tells us is that this characteristic — ‘intellectual brilliance’ — is the thing most likely to distinguish them,” Mukunda said. “It’s related to IQ but not the same. It’s horsepower with openness to new ideas, creativeness, broadness in taste.”




It’s something, Mukunda said, that most owners don’t consider, “a market inefficiency of stunning scale in the NFL.” And it’s a trait that Mayo personifies.

“If you get a chance to pick someone like Jerod, you pick them,” Mukunda said. “I don’t know if it’s with the Patriots or some other team, but Jerod will be a head coach in the NFL one day.

“But I’ll also say this: I do not think that will be the most important thing Jerod Mayo will do with his life.”





Wednesdays during the NFL season are when players learn that week’s game plan. For the first few weeks of his rookie season, Spikes couldn’t figure out how Mayo knew the game plan by the time Spikes showed up at 7:30 a.m.

Finally, he asked.

“Oh,” Mayo responded, “I sit in on the coaching staff’s 6 a.m. meeting.”




Spikes was floored. Players don’t sit in on meetings with coaches.

“I’m not lying,” Spikes said. “He was in the staff meetings. For real.”






Spikes had dedicated his life to football. He was one of the nation’s highest-rated recruits coming out of high school. He went to Florida, where he was one of the best players on one of the nation’s best teams. He thought football was his world.




“I thought I loved the game — like really loved it,” Spikes said. “And then I met Jerod and Tom. And then I was like, OK, maybe I just really like it. I don’t love it like them. They just eat and sleep football.”

That’s partly why, teammates felt, Mayo hit it off with Belichick.





Like Belichick, Mayo grew up with a military background. His mom, Denise, raised him in Virginia with help from her parents. Mayo spent a lot of time with his grandfather, Walter Johnson, a retired Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force. Denise worked two jobs, including one at Langley Air Force Base. Mayo was the second oldest of four boys, a youth counselor at Zion Prospect Baptist Church.





He bonded with Belichick, who spent his formative years in Annapolis, Md., where his dad worked at the Naval Academy. Teammates jokingly called Mayo a teacher’s pet because he seemingly was always in his coach’s good graces.






When Mayo suffered a season-ending injury toward the end of his playing career, he came into the facility and spent long days breaking down games with Belichick’s son, Steve, then a defensive coaching assistant. The two grew close and now serve as de facto co-defensive coordinators even though neither holds the official title.

Perhaps all of that helps explain why Mayo might be the perfect candidate to fill the massive shoes the elder Belichick will one day leave vacant in New England.




Ownership could feel secure handing the reins over to someone they know so well and respect so much. Belichick could feel proud handing over all he’s built to someone he drafted, developed and taught how to coach.

“He’s Bill Belichick 2.0,” Spikes said. “They speak the same language.”





Nothing has been promised. Belichick could continue chalking up wins and coaching for many more years. Mayo could get an offer elsewhere that he can’t turn down. Maybe opinions change. But for now, it’s clear the Krafts want to keep him close.

“They know what they have,” Ninkovich said. “So why let that leave if you can keep that within the organization?”




Teammates used to give Mayo a hard time because of how often he’d want to be home with his wife, Chantel, and four kids. The players would organize nights out for the whole linebacker crew, and Mayo often pushed to have small-scale events so he could get home earlier.





They were amazed at how he handled the responsibilities of being a professional athlete. His home life was thriving. He dominated on the football field. And coaches loved him.

“He could just manage everything,” Spikes said. “I was like, ‘You’ve just got this life thing figured out.’”




After Mayo retired in 2016, Belichick started planting the seeds of a coaching career with Chantel. He told her Mayo was meant to coach. But Mayo needed some time to recharge before diving back into football. He became an executive at Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. He invested and explored other interests.




But most of all, he spent time with his family. He stayed near Foxboro so his kids could be near their friends and attend the same schools.




In 2019, Mayo relented to Belichick’s frequent overtures, joining the staff as the inside linebackers coach. Within four years he was interviewing for head-coaching openings. Now, he’s tied to New England long-term.



Mayo celebrated his 37th birthday last month, a low-key affair at the family’s house near Gillette Stadium. One of his children played the piano. Another sat on his lap. They sang “Happy Birthday,” placed a cake before him and told him to make a wish.

He took a second to think.



It’s been a busy few years for him. The foray into coaching. The rapid rise up the ladder. The interest from other owners and his recent loyalty pledge to the only franchise he’s ever worked for. And there’s more to come.

Mayo took a deep breath and blew out the candles.




Chad Graff is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the New England Patriots after five years on the Minnesota Vikings beat. Graff joined The Athletic in January 2018 after covering a bit of everything for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He's a New Hampshire native and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire. Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadGraff. Follow Chad on Twitter @ChadGraff

[whatever_gong82]

Considering that the Bill Belichick tree is full of weeds (Matt Patricia especially), I wonder how Jerod Mayo will succeed where others (Patricia again!) have failed.

[Futureshock]

Considering that the Bill Belichick tree is full of weeds (Matt Patricia especially), I wonder how Jerod Mayo will succeed where others (Patricia again!) have failed.

Maybe he's more like the Titans coach and has his own brain.

[Futureshock]

Report: Texans will pay $6 million to make Brandin Cooks trade happen

Posted by Mike Florio on March 19, 2023, 10:40 AM EDT

Getty Images

Receiver Brandon Cooks was due to make $18 million this year, fully guaranteed. He still is. And the Texans will be paying a third of the amount, even though he won’t be playing for them.

PFT has confirmed that the Texans have agreed to pay $6 million of the Cooks salary in order to make the trade happen. The Cowboys will pay the other $12 million.

Cooks is signed through 2024. He has a base salary of $13 million and a roster bonus of $3 million next year.

The Cowboys traded receiver Amari Cooper to the Browns last year, in lieu of paying him $20 million.

Cooks has now been traded four times; the Cowboys become his fifth NFL team.

This is the second trade the Cowboys have made in recent days for a long-time NFL veteran. Previously, the Cowboys traded a fifth-round pick for cornerback Stephon Gilmore, a 2012 first-round selection. Now, they’ll send a fifth- and sixth-round pick to the Texans for Cooks.

[Futureshock]

Glad it didn't work for them...

Bears mulled trading down with Texans from 1 to 2, then trading down again with Panthers

Posted by Michael David Smith on March 20, 2023, 10:45 AM EDT

Getty Images

Bears General Manager Ryan Poles traded down from the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to the ninth overall pick, and he’s pleased with what he got in return. But he was considering a more complex scenario that might have given the Bears an even greater return.

Poles told Peter King in Football Morning in America that he was considering the possibility of moving down just one spot in a trade with the Texans, getting the No. 2 overall pick this year and the Texans’ first-round pick next year, and then trading down again to No. 9 with the Panthers. But Poles said he ultimately decided that the time immediately following the Scouting Combine was the right time to execute a trade to a team that had fallen in love with one of the quarterbacks in the draft.

“I thought there was an opportunity to do something historically pretty cool with a trade from one to two and two to nine,” Poles said. “That had potential to add more draft capital this year, and then the possibility that you’re sitting on three ones in the following year. That had my attention. But my gut told me to trigger on it now. At the combine, I thought those quarterbacks did an outstanding job in their interview process. A lot of teams felt really good about some of those guys, but as you get further away from the combine, maybe there’s a bad pro day or something that turns teams off.”

Poles said he and Panthers General Manager Scott Fitterer engaged in thoughtful negotiations, and when the Panthers agreed to include wide receiver D.J. Moore along with the No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick, Poles decided not to wait and risk the deal falling apart.

“Scott and I have a pretty good relationship, being around each other on the road,” Poles said. “I think that played a big part of it. And trust. He wanted to get it done. He was clear with his intentions.”

The Panthers have said they would consider trading back to No. 2, so it’s still possible that the end result will be the Texans picking first, Panthers picking second and Bears picking ninth. But that would be between the Panthers and Texans. The Bears are satisfied that they got the deal they wanted, and got it more than a month before the draft.