Could the Steelers trade up in the first round? If so, the Chicago Bears are an attractive target at No. 9, and these two teams have history.
Near the NFL trade deadline, the Bears traded their second-round pick to Pittsburgh Wide receiver Chase Claypool. At the time, Claypool was thought to help open up Chicago quarterback Justin Fields.
Fields took a big step forward, but it wasn’t thanks to Claypool, who remains a Bear but is now second on the depth chart behind DJ Moore.
But that trade history could pay dividends for both clubs. Pittsburgh seems willing to trade up if the opportunity arises to land a star offensive tackle, and Chicago is pressing for draft capital. The Bears have already given their No. 1 overall pick to the Carolina Panthers, a small war chest for future picks.
NFL rumors: Steelers could trade with Bears.
This report comes from EJ Snyder of the Bootleg Football Podcast The two sides reportedly discussed a possible deal.
“The Bears and the Steelers are possible. They’ve talked about it. I know they’ve talked about it,” Snyder said. “It’s not at all certain. The most likely way to connect the dots is that Pittsburgh needs and provides a solution and they go out to one because there’s someone they love and they’re gone at 17.”
Snyder warned that several teams, not just Pittsburgh, have spoken to Chicago about that pick. It’s a known fact that Ryan Pauls and the Bears are getting future picks in this year’s draft as they rebuild.
But, let’s say Peter Skoronski from Northwestern falls to the Bears. You can easily get a phone call from Steelers GM Omar Khan. Talking about parameters in advance gives these two sides an advantage.
