It was hard not to watch Jalen Carter throw Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive players around Monday night and wonder what could have been for the Chicago Bears.
After all, Carter-to-the-Bears seemed like a match made in heaven for draft experts and fans heading into the 2023 NFL Draft — until it suddenly wasn’t due to Carter’s revealed involvement in a fatal car crash in January, the PR nightmare that followed and the former Bulldog’s uninspiring Pro Day workout.
The Bears told the world what they thought by actively trading out of a chance to draft Carter with the ninth overall pick and instead taking Tennessee tackle Darnell Wright with the 10th pick, allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to scoot up quite possibly the best player in last year’s draft.