Colts Owner Likes Bryce Young; Bears Hold Key

The Colts are taking all the intrigue out of the top of the draft.

Derek Carr could be doing the same for the Bears' draft.

Only two days after the Super Bowl the quarterback wheels for the 2023 season have begun to spin.

Colts GM Chris Ballard had said his team "would do whatever it takes," to get a quarterback. That had to please Bears fans, whose team could demand a ransom of picks to move down to No. 4.

Now owner Jim Irsay is the one blabbing too much and the Bears had to be loving it even more as they sit there holding the first pick in the draft.

While talking after the hiring of Shane Steichen as head coach, Irsay blurted about the quarterback position: "The Alabama guy doesn't look bad, I'll tell yah."

The Alabama guy is Bryce Young. So now the Bears know who the Colts are targeting and how badly they want a deal.

It's possible the only way the Colts will get him is to trade up to No. 1 with the Bears. At least it looked that way until Carr cut cut by the Las Vegas Raiders.

Indianapolis' division rival, the Houston Texans, might be able to do severe damage to any plans by the Bears to trade back to No. 4 by signing Carr.

The Texans have to be one of the teams being considered by Carr as a new home, while the Jets and a few other teams would probably be interested. Carr has pined for Houston in the past, according to Coty M. Davis of Texans Daily on FanNation.

If Carr signs with the Texans, who once had Derek's brother David as their starter, then there would be no need for Houston to trade up with the Bears from No. 2 to No. 1. There goes the old double trade.

The Texans most likely would be thinking defense then because their new head coach is former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, and defense in this draft starts with tackle Jalen Carter and end Will Anderson Jr. Both are players the Bears could use.

If Houston is picking defense at No. 2 and not trying to get a quarterback, and the Bears do trade back with Indianapolis to No. 4, then Chicago could very well be left out when it comes to selecting one of the top two defensive linemen in the draft. Arizona also needs defense and is picking No. 3. Both of the top defensive linemen could go at Nos. 2 and 3 before the Bears would pick fourth.

In fact, the Bears might not even be able to deal with Indianapolis if Houston signs Carr because the Colts would then know they could simply sit at No. 4 and give up nothing or even trade up with the Arizona Cardinals to No. 3 and give up a little less than they would by trading up to No. 1, and still have a good chance to satisfy Irsay with that Alabama quarterback.

So, in essence, Carr could take the double-trade right out of the picture for the Bears and also force them to trade way back to seven, eight or nine if they want to make any type of deal. Then they wouldn't get Anderson or Carter.

It's all enough to make your head spin and the only thing definite is the Colts still want a quarterback in the draft and the Bears still need defensive linemen.

Free agency could clear much of this up when it starts in a month.

Then again, if Carr signs with New Orleans, the Bears probably have nothing to worry about.

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