The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced. The deal is expected to be announced on Wednesday, when the NFL’s free agency signing period begins.
The move allows the Panthers to acquire a potential franchise quarterback — the sort of player the team has coveted for years — although it remains unclear which QB Carolina prefers. The Bears are committed to Justin Fields at quarterback and that gave them leverage to trade down.
Carolina has its choice of Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis or Florida’s Anthony Richardson. The Panthers are considering up to three quarterbacks, one of the people familiar with the deal said.
The Panthers may not have gotten the QB they wanted if they had stayed at No. 9.
“You go get the guy that you want, you know,” Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said last week at the scouting combine about potentially trading up for a quarterback. “If you have a conviction on a guy, you go get him. It’s pretty simple that way. If you don’t know and you’re going to give all these resources to go up and get it, you’re hurting your team in the long run. You better be right. You better have conviction if you do move up. When you do that, you’re all in.”
The Panthers have been seeking stability at quarterback since David Tepper bought the team in 2018.
They have tried several starters — including Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater and even bringing back Cam Newton for a second stint. But none of those options has worked out and Carolina hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2017.
This is the first time the Panthers have had the No. 1 pick since 2011, when they drafted Newton. He was MVP of the league in 2015, when he led Carolina to its second Super Bowl appearance.
The Panthers decided against making an offer to free agent Derek Carr with an eye toward selecting a quarterback in the draft. Carr got a four-year, $150 million deal from the division rival New Orleans Saints. The Panthers didn’t want to invest that much in a veteran.