Report Suggests Open Trade Market for Bears

ESPN reported the Houston Texans will be looking for a quarterback with their first pick at No. 2, which could play into any Bears plans to trade down once or even twice.

If one report is correct, the Bears can count on getting the chance at the double-trade down or pretty much whatever they want in a deal.

Owning the first pick and needing defensive help badly, the Bears don't have to worry about Houston taking one of the top defensive linemen available according to ESPN.

Citing league sources, ESPN reported the Texans will draft a quarterback even though their coach is former 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and there are some veteran passers available.

The Bears will be fielding offers and GM Ryan Poles had already made this clear.

"We can evaluate the talent there, we can see what player presents themselves in that position to help us, and then we can look at the scenarios," Poles said after the season. "If the phones go off and there are certain situations where that can help us, then we'll go down that avenue, too.

"I think we have really good flexibility to help this team, regardless if it’s making the pick there or moving back a little bit or moving back a lot. We'll be open to everything."

If the Texans had been more interested in defense, that likely meant the second and third picks would have gone for defensive linemen because Arizona will need defense. They just hired Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as head coach and before that needed defensive line help, anyway.

If the second and third picks would have gone for defense, the Bears would have found it hard moving down to No. 4 in a trade with the Colts, who all but issued a pronouncement Tuesday that they want Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. They would have missed out on defensive tackle Jalen Carter and end Will Anderson Jr., the consensus top two.

They could now trade down to the Texans, who might want to try and get Young instead of the Colts. They could trade down twice, even, although this might make it tough to come up with the very elite defensive linemen.

If Houston and the Colts are aiming for quarterback, and a few teams later in Round 1 also are, the bidding war could become very inviting for Poles and the Bears.

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