Taking stock of the Bears' blockbuster 2023 trade with the Panthers

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers come full circle — again.

It has been more than three years since the teams executed a trade that proved monumental for both franchises.

On March 10, 2023, the Bears traded the No. 1 pick in that year’s draft to the Panthers, acquiring the Nos. 9 and 61 picks in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025 and wide receiver DJ Moore.

The Panthers paid a high price to have first dibs on their quarterback of choice, Bryce Young. The 2024 pick wound up being the No. 1 selection, which the Bears used to draft quarterback Caleb Williams.

“I wasn’t here, but obviously having Caleb in the building is a huge thing with where we are and where we’re going,” second-year Bears coach Ben Johnson said Tuesday. “And then of course we’re able to acquire a lot of draft picks from that as well. So I think we’ve got a solid foundation.

“Carolina has a good foundation as well. So it’s one of those things both teams feel pretty good about the outcome and where we’re heading.”

Sunday’s season opener at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., will mark the second Bears-Panthers meeting since that trade, which had markedly different effects on each team.

The haul for the Bears established much of their core, built around Williams. The Panthers, for all they gave up, still are trying to decide whether they share a future with Young.

“Big appreciation, obviously, them making that choice and that decision looking into the future and getting some of the guys that we have, including myself,” Williams said. “Being able to be here at this historical franchise, it’s unbeatable.”

Here’s a breakdown of each player who branched from the trade:

Panthers

— QB Bryce Young (2023 first round, No. 1): At the time, most draft watchers thought the top pick would come down to Alabama’s Young or Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud. Then-Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer and then-coach Frank Reich reached a consensus on Young, who had won the 2021 Heisman Trophy as a sophomore. Draft pundits had qualms about Young’s size (5-foot-10, 204 pounds), but Fitterer said Young “checks all of the boxes.”

Bears

— OT Darnell Wright (2023 first round, No. 10): The Bears traded down one slot on draft night, allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to select defensive tackle Jalen Carter at No. 9 while adding a fourth-round pick in 2024. The decision to pass on an elite defensive lineman was questioned at the time, but Wright has become one of the league’s best right tackles. The 2025 second-team All-Pro signed a four-year, $116 million contract extension Aug. 4.

— CB Tyrique Stevenson (2023 second round, No. 56): The Bears sent the 61st pick they got from the Panthers, along with a 2023 fifth-rounder (No. 136), to the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up five spots and select Stevenson. The Jaguars used those picks on tight end Brenton Strange and linebacker Yasir Abdullah. Stevenson’s first three seasons have been a mixed bag, but he made several interceptions in training camp and is locked in as a starting outside corner opposite Jaylon Johnson.

— QB Caleb Williams (2024 first round, No. 1): The Panthers’ trash season in 2023 turned out to be the Bears’ treasure. Carolina finished a league-worst 2-15, handing the top pick to the Bears. Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye were options, but the Bears were laser-focused on Williams out of USC and took him at No. 1. GM Ryan Poles said at the time: “When you talk to his teammates, they don’t like him, they love him. It’s his leadership, how he brings people together. He’s intentional with his leadership.”

— P Tory Taylor (2024 fourth round, No. 122): The Bears used the second part of the Eagles trade to grab the 2023 Ray Guy Award winner from Iowa as the nation’s best college punter. Taylor, a native of Melbourne, Australia, ranked 22nd in the NFL last season with a 40.4-yard net average.

— WR Luther Burden III (2025 second round, No. 39): Poles and his staff were elated that the “electric” wide receiver fell to them. He finished his rookie year with 47 receptions for 652 yards, and this offseason Johnson said he’s “buying Luther Burden stock.”

— WR DJ Moore: The Bears, under then-coach Matt Eberflus, brought in Moore to give then-quarterback Justin Fields a reliable weapon in the passing game. Both Eberflus and Fields were dispatched before the next season.

Moore was a security blanket for Williams during the quarterback’s rookie season (98 catches for 966 yards), and he played a central role in last season’s rallies, catching late touchdown passes to clinch comebacks against the Green Bay Packers in both a regular-season overtime game and a wild-card playoff game.

However, the Bears traded Moore and a 2026 fifth-round pick (No. 165) to the Buffalo Bills in March, receiving a 2026 second-rounder (No. 60) while clearing the decks for younger receivers such as Burden.

— TE Sam Roush (2026 third round, No. 69): The Bears dealt the 60th pick they acquired from the Bills in the Moore trade to the Tennessee Titans in exchange for picks in the third (No. 69) and fifth (No. 144) rounds. The Titans picked linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. at No. 60.

The Bears drafted Roush to augment a tight end room that already boasted Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet. The rookie adds size and speed, but run blocking is regarded as his best attribute.

— CB Malik Muhammad II (2026 fourth round, No. 124): Still a branch of the Moore trade, the Bears sent the 144th pick and a fourth-rounder (No. 129) to the Panthers to move up five spots and grab Muhammad. The Bears also received a fifth-rounder (No. 166). The Panthers picked cornerback Will Lee III at No. 129 and center Sam Hecht at No. 144.

After the draft, Poles said of Muhammad: “We like the way that he covers. We like the play style, and we think there’s room for him to continue to improve too.” The Bears tried him at nickel and outside corner in training camp.

— LB Keyshaun Elliott (2026 fifth round, No. 166): He represents the second part of the package with the Muhammad pick, the third piece gained from the Moore deal and the ninth and final branch of the original 2023 trade. He spent most of training camp on the physically unable to perform list, but the Bears hope he rounds into a special teams contributor.

The aftermath

As a rookie in 2023, Young threw for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 73.7 passer rating. Panthers owner David Tepper fired Reich in November of Young’s rookie season and fired Fitterer after the season. The Panthers finished 2-15, putting the pick they traded to the Bears at the top of the draft board.

The next season, new coach Dave Canales benched Young in favor of Andy Dalton just two weeks in, and Young stayed in a reserve role for five consecutive games before regaining the starting job.

Young came off the bench to serve in mop-up duty during the fourth quarter of a 36-10 loss to the Bears on Oct. 6, 2024, at Soldier Field. He drove the offense 66 yards to the Bears 8 but was sacked by Austin Booker on fourth-and-2.

Last season, Young had career highs in completions (304), yards (3,011) and touchdowns (23), along with 11 interceptions and an 87.8 rating. The Panthers won the NFC South at 8-9 and gave the Los Angeles Rams a scare in the wild-card round before losing 34-31.

GM Dan Morgan, a former Panthers linebacker, picked up Young’s fifth-year option but didn’t initially commit to a long-term extension.

“We’ll talk to Bryce’s representatives and just kind of keep those discussions here internally,” Morgan told NFL Network’s Rich Eisen in May. “But obviously we believe in Bryce. … He’s just getting better every single day. So we’re obviously really excited about him and the team and the direction that we’re headed.”

For the Bears, a franchise known for its woeful quarterback history, the acquisition of Williams proved revolutionary.

His 3,541 passing yards as a rookie, fifth at the time on the Bears’ all-time single-season list, was an eye-opener. Williams’ talent was a draw for Johnson, the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator whom the Bears hired as a first-time head coach in January 2025.

“Having a quarterback helps,” Johnson said with a smile at the time.

In his first season under Johnson, Williams set a Bears record with 3,942 yards, falling just 58 yards short of becoming the franchise’s first 4,000-yard passer.

But that milestone was overshadowed by the Bears’ league-leading seven comeback victories and a playoff run that ended in overtime of the divisional round against the Rams. It was the Bears’ first postseason berth since 2020 and the first time they won a playoff game since 2010.

In the final tally, the Panthers have Young, and he may yet be their quarterback of the future. Canales told the team radio show “Panther Talk” this week that he has seen Young take his game study and on-field stewardship to another level.

“It’s continuity, familiarity, confidence,” Canales said. “His continuing to grow as a leader as well.”

The Bears, meanwhile, have who they believe to be a franchise quarterback in Williams, a cornerstone right tackle in Wright, a starting cornerback in Stevenson, a burgeoning receiver in Burden, a punter in Taylor and promising prospects in Roush, Muhammad and Elliott.

“Shout out to them guys,” Stevenson said. “They felt like they were making a good decision with the organization at the time, and we got all these guys here, which led to us having a winning season last season.

“With all that’s going on and everybody that we’ve got here, we’re just going to capitalize and go have another winning season.”

Stevenson dispensed with diplomacy when asked which team benefited more from the deal.

“Oh, we know who got the better of the trade,” he said with a smile. “I feel like that’s for everybody’s eyes and ears to make their own opinion. But I would say I feel like we won it.”

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