While reports are leaning towards the Bears keeping the No. 1 pick and drafting Caleb Williams in the 2024 NFL draft, that's yet to be officially decided.
As general manager Ryan Poles should do, he's weighing all options. How much can he pry from a team for the No. 1 pick? When asked a similar question about trading up in the draft, here's how Commanders general manager Adam Peters answered.
"I think we'd do anything to make our team better," Peters told Peter Schrager. "Trade up, trade down, had a lot of good conversations with a lot of GMs this week. Really productive. We're going to look through every avenue to make our team better."
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The Commanders own the No. 2 pick in the draft, one slot behind the Bears with the first overall selection. They need a quarterback, seeing as they benched Sam Howell toward the end of the season for his declining performance.
So why trade up? Some view USC's Caleb Williams as a generational talent at quarterback. His name is often tied to the Commanders because Williams is a D.C. native, despite playing in Southern California in college.
The Commanders could attempt to make a deal with the Bears for the first pick, but a report from Ian Rapoport indicates the Bears would need a "historic haul" to be motivated to move off the first pick.
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Remember, last season the Bears traded down from the No. 1 pick to the No. 9 pick. They received a 2023 first (No. 9) and second-round pick, a 2024 first-round pick (No. 1 pick), a 2025 second-round pick and wide receiver DJ Moore from the Panthers.
Even though the Commanders are just one spot from the Bears, Ryan Poles is likely asking for a larger package than they earned from the Panthers to move nearly out of the top 10 picks.
Rapoport says no team is willing to meet the Bears' demands on that front.
"I have not talked to any team, one, willing to make that happen, or two, that believes they can," Rapoport reported on NFL Network. "It surely seems that the Bears are heading in the direction of taking Caleb Williams at No. 1."
It appears, from that conclusion, that would be reason enough for the Bears to keep the first pick and draft a quarterback. If they can't get what they believe the No. 1 pick --- and moving off of Fields --- is worth it, then they have their answer. The Athletic's Diana Russini reported her confidence in the Bears doing just that.
"Multiple league sources I spoke to believe the Bears are trying to move on from Justin Fields, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract," Russini wrote. "The team, which has the No. 1 and 9 picks, appears to be focused on using its first pick to select USC quarterback Caleb Williams."
How will the franchise-altering decision play out? Stay tuned.