Radio host Dan Sileo created a bit of a firestorm on Twitter recently when he declared that the Chicago Bears were one of five teams actively calling the Cincinnati Bengals about the availability of the #1 overall pick. This led to instant debates among fans. There's no way it's true, right? Not even Ryan Pace is that crazy. Sure he's aggressive and knows they need a quarterback but he wouldn't mortgage the future of the franchise by going up that far to get one. Even if it's Joe Burrow.
Well, before that statement had a chance to truly set in, Sileo struck again. The former NFL player doubled down by stating the Bears have begun actively shopping star pass rusher Khalil Mack. This including their initial asking price which is no doubt substantial.
Clearly the man is leaning into this narrative hard. If the Bears were to entertain the idea of going after that #1 pick, then they'd have to make their best player available. Mack is still in his prime and has 21 sacks in the past two seasons. Given how valuable pass rushers are, it's not a stretch to think they could get a strong return for him. No doubt this package would then be put towards an offer for #1 overall.
Khalil Mack isn't going anywhere
Let's be honest here. Even if the Bears packaged Mack in a deal to get up to #1, it would still cost a ton in draft picks to have any prayer of pulling it off. One must not forget that the star pass rusher is currently the highest-paid defensive player in the NFL. While well-deserved, it makes trading him more difficult because a lot of teams won't want to give up lots of draft picks and a huge amount of money to get him.
Somebody probably would in the end, but the package in return won't be as big as what Sileo says they're asking for. It would probably get them back into the 1st round with some additional picks on top of that. This would shorten the jump up to #1, but even then it just doesn't appear feasible. Then again this is the NFL and crazy stuff happens every year. Pace is just the kind of aggressive, QB-obsessed thinker who would do it.
