Something weird is going on. People thought they had a firm grasp of what the Chicago Bears have available for the upcoming 2025 NFL draft. They hold three picks in the top 41. However, they lost their 4th round pick to the Buffalo Bills when trading back into the 2024 draft to grab Austin Booker. That means after their 3rd round selection, they would have to wait all the way until the 5th before picking again. Fairly clear, right? Well, it seems some confusing information has surfaced over the past 24 hours.
According to ESPN, the Carolina Panthers hold the 114th overall pick in the 4th round next month. They received this by trading wide receiver Jonathan Mingo to the Dallas Cowboys.
Now, it gets crazy. According to NFL.com, it is not the Panthers who own that pick but the Bears. It's listed directly on their website.
Immediately, your thought is that it is just a mistake by whoever wrote the column. Their information was off. Nope. Move over to the Chicago Bears' own website, and they, too, list the 114th pick as one they own.
The Chicago Bears are trapped behind a cloud of smoke.
Did they swing a deal with Carolina for that pick without anybody noticing? The league reports all trades. There is almost no way the two teams exchanging that pick would've gone completely ignored. The only logical explanation is that this is some accounting error by the league that hasn't yet been corrected. Then again, if by some miracle the Chicago Bears do hold the rights to that pick, it may go down as one of the greatest mysteries in recent memory, especially if they were to somehow land a good player with it. There is a reasonable assumption this issue will be untangled once the draft draws closer. Based on the information available, the pick likely still belongs to Carolina and this was a simple mistake.
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