Barring something unexpected, the 2025 NFL Draft will close the book on one of the big trades in recent memory.
In the buildup to the 2023 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears and the Carolina Panthers executed a trade involving the first-overall selection, one that opened the door for both teams to select a quarterback in the No. 1 spot. Carolina was able to do that during the 2023 NFL Draft and as a result of the trade the Bears were able to do the same a year later.
Now that the circle has been closed, let’s run through the complete details of the trade between these two teams from 2023.
What were the terms of the Bears-Panthers trade in 2023?
The 2022 Bears finished the regular season with a 3-14 record, which gave them the rights to the first-overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft.
But with Justin Fields entrenched as the team’s starting quarterback, speculation began almost immediately that the Bears might trade out of the first-overall selection, given the number of teams that needed to address the quarterback position.
In March of 2023, the Bears made the speculation a reality. Chicago swung a deal with the Panthers, one that allowed Carolina to come up to No. 1, and saw the Bears slide back to No. 9.
Here are the full terms of that deal, from when it was announced.
Bears receive
2023 first-round pick (No. 9 overall)
2023 second-round pick (No. 61 overall)
2024 first-round pick
2025 second-round pick
WR D.J. Moore
Panthers receive
2023 first-round pick (No. 1 overall)
What did the Panthers turn the trade into?
This is the easy part.
Carolina had their choice of quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft and selected Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young out of Alabama.
While Young’s rookie season saw mixed returns, and Young was even benched early during the 2024 season, the Alabama product closed out the 2024 season on a high note, and there are expectations that his second season under Dave Canales could see him grow into the franchise quarterback the Panthers were hoping he could become.
Panthers trade haul:
- QB Bryce Young (No. 1 pick in 2023)
What did the Bears turn the trade into?
As noted above, Chicago received wide receiver D.J. Moore as part of the deal. Moore caught 96 passes for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns during his first season in Chicago and caught another 98 passes for 966 yards and six touchdowns last season.
The second-round pick the team acquired in the 2023 draft? Chicago packaged that along with a fifth-round pick in a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, moving up five spots in the second round to No. 56 to draft cornerback Tyrique Stevenson out of Miami. Stevenson has started 30 games for Chicago over his two seasons, and snared four interceptions during his rookie campaign.
As for the 2024 first-round pick the Bears received as part of this deal? Here is where things get fascinating. Between their own first-round pick, and the rights to Carolina’s, Chicago began the 2023 season holding two picks in the first round, but with Justin Fields as their starting quarterback.
While the hope was Fields would demonstrate enough for the Bears to forge ahead with him as their starting quarterback, allowing them to use the draft capital to continue to build around him, that did not come to fruition. Fields started all 13 games he played, completing 61.4% of his passes for 2,562 yards along with 16 TDs, nine interceptions, and an 86.3 passer rating. But it was not enough to convince the brass in Chicago that the job was his, and in March of 2024, the team traded him to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
However, they also owned the rights to the first-overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Thanks to the Panthers.
Carolina’s 2-15 record was the worst in the league, which gave the Bears the No. 1 selection. Chicago’s own pick in the first round came at No. 9.
What did the Bears do with that first-round pick from Carolina? They drafted quarterback Caleb Williams out of USC.
However, there is one pick outstanding from this trade, and that is the 2025 second-round pick the Panthers sent to Chicago as part of the deal.
That pick is No. 39 overall, and the Bears made that pick on Friday night. Chicago selected Luther Burden III, a wide receiver out of Missouri.
Bears trade haul:
- RT Darnell Wright, No. 10 pick in 2023
- CB Tyrique Stevenson, No. 61 pick in 2023
- QB Caleb Williams, No. 1 pick in 2024
- WR Luther Burden III, No. 39 pick in 2025
- WR D.J. Moore
Chicago also acquired the pick that became punter Tory Taylor in moving from No. 10 to No. 9 in a trade down with the Eagles.
