The Bears owe the Colts a thank you gift.
Without the Colts’ loss to the Texans in Week 18, the Bears never would have gotten the haul that they got Friday in a trade of the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers.
Chicago is getting the No. 9 overall pick and No. 61 overall pick in this year’s draft from Carolina, as well as wide receiver DJ Moore, the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick and the Panthers’ 2025 second-round selection.
The Panthers are trading up to take a quarterback at No. 1 overall. They will have their choice of Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Florida’s Anthony Richardson or Kentucky’s Will Levis. The Texans then will take one of the other three.
Houston appeared a shoo-in for the top pick the entire season until winning 32-31 over Indianapolis with a touchdown and a two-point conversion with 50 seconds left. The Texans finished 3-13-1.
Then Texans head coach Lovie Smith said after the Week 18 game that he gave no consideration to taking the foot off the gas in order to get the top pick, but the team fired Smith after the season.
So, they will have to wait to see who the Panthers select before making their pick of quarterbacks.