The door is seemingly open for the Bears to cash in on a trade-down scenario in the upcoming draft.
One top club official relayed to NBC's Peter King, "We're tired of Band-Aids," when discussing the quarterback situation.
Teams have tried dearly to accommodate their quarterback issues with a plug-and-play method, bringing in veteran signal callers to patch up the wound of football's most coveted position.
Unfortunately for most, the strategy doesn't work. And while there are outliers, like Tom Brady with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, most of the time the strategy fails.
Take the Indianapolis Colts, for example. They've tried three plug-and-play quarterbacks since Andrew Luck's unexpected retirement in the form of Philip Rivers, Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan. All have tried and failed.
How about the Denver Broncos? They traded a healthy stockpile (including five draft picks) to the Seattle Seahawks for Russell Wilson's services. Yet, they went 5-12 this past season, finishing with the fifth-worst record and handing over the No. 5 pick in the draft to Seattle.
The Panthers went down the same path. They optimistically traded for Sam Darnold in 2021 and then traded for Baker Mayfield in July 2022. And while the latter only cost them a conditional 2024 pick, they released him in the middle of last season.
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Many teams have staved off the NFL draft. But, only a few have survived. And most are starting to realize they must revert to the traditional ways of the draft.
Insert the Chicago Bears.
The Bears withhold a potential ticket to any team's quarterback woes, by way of the No. 1 pick. And Ryan Poles has made it abundantly clear he doesn't plan to hold on to the pick in hopes of trading for future assets.
In fact, he mentioned to the aforementioned King he's received calls from three teams about the pick. He also said he was surprised with one team's location in the draft as it related to their interest in the pick.
MORE: Poles: Bears spoke with 3 teams about No. 1 pick at Combine
One can only conclude the Bears will make use of the seemingly overwhelming demand for their pick and turn it into a cornucopia of assets in return. Poles said he believes he can get a first-round pick in 2024 and 2025 from a trade-down scenario.
Yet, the Bears must navigate with caution, as they likely desire to stay within range of drafting a generational talent on the defensive side of the ball. They need major support on defense, as they finished dead last in opponent points allowed last season.
How will the Bears take advantage of the demand for their pick?