Is Ryan Poles fighting for Bears draft picks? Tyson Bagent is a top 32 QB in the league

Summary

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Forward Progress - A Chicago Bears Podcast

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Is Ryan Poles Fighting for Bears Draft Picks? Tyson Bagent Is a Top-32 QB in the League
Host: 312 Sports
Featuring: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Release Date: Feb. 24, 2026

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Episode Theme & Purpose

This episode dives deep into the pressing offseason issues facing the Chicago Bears, focusing on draft pick compensation surrounding Ian Cunningham’s departure, front office philosophies, and the fate of QB Tyson Bagent. Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola deliver their signature blend of analysis and banter, questioning the team’s advocacy for compensatory picks, outlining the draft approach, and speculating on possible trades as the NFL Combine opens.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bears’ Fight for Compensatory Draft Picks (Ian Cunningham situation)

• Background: Ian Cunningham, former Bears assistant GM, was hired as Atlanta’s general manager. NFL rules might entitle the Bears to compensatory picks for developing minority candidates hired by other franchises.
  • Ryan Poles on Cunningham’s Departure:

    "I want to make that very clear. On the other side, there's a set of rules that were put in place that I think can be applied to this situation... So we'll see what happens as we move forward. No one personally called me from the league, so it is a little strange." (02:17)

  • Poles expresses pride in staff development but admits he finds compensation for it “a little strange.”
• Hosts’ Reaction:
  • Dan Bernstein:

    "What's clear. He just made it completely unclear. ... How hard are you going to fight for the compensatory draft picks?" (03:43)

  • Matt Abbatacola:

    "He doesn't seem like he supports it... his team deserves to get those... picks." (05:12)

  • On GM Advocacy:

    "I want him advocating for the Bears. I want him to charge the mound on this one." (05:31)

2. First Round Draft Philosophy & Roster Priorities

• Poles on Draft Approach:

  "It's going to be the best player available... especially in early rounds, like one, you really got to stick to best player available..." (07:05)

  • Latest draft class is "much deeper in the edge rush than it is interior." (07:37)
• Hosts’ Analysis:
  • Dan Bernstein: Unlikely Bears get “Phil Needs” (implied top OL) at their pick; edge rushers will be more available.
  • Discussion on D-Line Rebuild: Bears have less cap space than last year, unlikely to make “perfect storm” FA/trade moves again. Injuries affected last year’s DL chemistry.

3. Scheme Fit and Roster Construction with Coaches

• Ryan Poles on Identifying Prototypes:

  "When we first got Dennis in, it's really for all the coaches... they came in and talked about what they need, like what's the prototype..." (09:52)

  • There is a structured process for matching players to scheme needs of new coordinators; more clarity emerges with each offseason cycle.
  • Emphasis that offensive core will remain similar; changes may primarily affect RB room or WR2.

4. Salary Cap, Roster Flexibility, and QB Planning

• Poles on Future Contracts & Cap Structure:

  "He gives us a lot of different scenarios...because we want to stay in that sweet spot where we have maximum amount of flexibility as we move on, not only from this year, but three years down the road. I hope eventually to have a quarterback situation too, where we got to pay a young quarterback..." (12:10)

5. Tyson Bagent’s Status: Backup or Trade Asset?

• Trade Interest Confirmed:

  "We've gotten a few calls there... that's a really tough decision for us, but for Tyson as well...you got to weigh the short term and long term.” (14:51)

• Hosts’ Reaction:
  • Dan Bernstein:

    "That's not a no to trading him at all...That's 'Make me an offer,' right?" (15:37)

• Ben Johnson on Bagent’s Value:

  "I’m of the mind that he's probably one of the best 32 in the NFL. His preseason tape over the last few years has probably confirmed that..." (15:59)

• Hosts’ Takeaway:
  • Both highlight Johnson's public endorsement elevates Bagent’s trade value; speculate Bears want at least a conditional third-round pick that could escalate to a second.
  • Matt Abbatacola:

    "If you were to get a fourth or a fifth round pick for Tyson Bagent, you and I would drive him to the airport..." (17:50)

6. DJ Moore’s Uncertain Future

• Poles on Moore:
  • Signals willingness to consider all scenarios, not a firm commitment to keeping Moore.
• Hosts’ Takeaway:
  • Matt Abbatacola:

    "Most likely to trade, number one is DJ Moore. Number two is Tyson Bagent. Most likely to cut is Tremaine Edmonds." (20:13)

  • Bernstein agrees, noting lack of strong commitment to Moore’s future.

7. Left Tackle Urgency and Draft Prospects

• Bears’ top offseason priority is filling left tackle due to Ozzie Tropillo’s uncertain injury status.
  • Hosts’ Emphasis: Neither confident in Tropillo’s 2026 return; filling LT is a “must.”
  • Free Agency or a draft pick (Proctor from Alabama cited at 28:08) are possible solutions.
• Lack of mock draft buzz on OL surprises them:
  • Matt Abbatacola:

    "There's a gaping hole right now in the offense, and it's that left tackle position. …Why not one person is talking about a tackle position for the Bears at all in any of these mock drafts." (29:40)

8. Prospects & Draft Watchlist

• Mel Kiper’s latest mock: Kaden McDonald (Ohio State DT) for Bears, but also mention Cade Proctor (Alabama OT).
• SI’s Bears Watchlist: Kaden McDonald, Lee Hunter, Caleb Banks, Dylan Feynman (Oregon S), TJ Parker (Clemson DE), Anthony Hill Jr. (Texas LB).
• Sleeper prospect: Curtis Allen, RB, Virginia Union (D2) - impressive measurables and stats (30:15).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Compensatory Picks:

  • Dan Bernstein: “What's clear. He just made it completely unclear.” (03:43)
  • Matt Abbatacola: “His team deserves to get those... picks.” (05:12)

• On Bagent’s Market:

  • Dan Bernstein about Poles' response: “That's not a no to trading him at all... That's 'Make me an offer.'” (15:37)
  • Ben Johnson on Bagent’s talent: “He's probably one of the best 32 in the NFL.” (15:59)
  • Matt Abbatacola: “If you were to get a fourth or a fifth round pick for Tyson Bagent, you and I would drive him to the airport…” (17:50)

• On DJ Moore Trade Talk:

  • Matt Abbatacola: “Most likely to trade, number one is DJ Moore. Number two is Tyson Bagent…” (20:13)
  • Dan Bernstein: “That is very far from a commitment to DJ Moore.” (20:34)

• On Left Tackle Urgency:

  • Matt Abbatacola: “That’s priority number one. You've got to address the left tackle issue. You have to.” (22:14)
  • Dan Bernstein: “The most important position… needs to be acquired.” (23:26)

• On Mock Drafts Ignoring Tackle Needs:

  • Matt Abbatacola: “Why not one person is talking about a tackle position for the Bears at all in any of these mock drafts.” (29:40)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Poles on Ian Cunningham/Comp Picks: 02:17–06:44
• 1st Round Philosophies/Draft Approach: 07:05–08:52
• D-Line and Coaching Collaboration: 09:52–11:09
• Cap Management & Young QB Plans: 12:10–13:08
• Tyson Bagent Trade Talk & Evaluation: 14:51–17:02 (Ben Johnson on Bagent at 15:59)
• DJ Moore Trade Scenarios: 19:14–20:34
• Left Tackle Priority: 21:20–24:39
• Draft/MOCK Watchlist & Prospect Breakdown: 26:31–29:44
• Sleeper RB Curtis Allen: 30:00–31:00

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Tone & Style

The episode strikes an irreverent, conversational tone; Bernstein and Abbatacola are knowledgeable, direct, and not afraid to challenge team decisions with critical skepticism. There are jabs at NFL bureaucracy, gentle roasting of vague GM speak, and passionate advocacy for Bears priorities (“I want my picks!”). Despite deep analysis, they maintain fans’ perspective—balancing hope, realism, and humor.

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Useful Takeaways for Non-Listeners

• GM Ryan Poles is lukewarm in advocating for compensatory picks after Ian Cunningham’s departure, which frustrates the hosts who want stronger advocacy.
• Poles maintains a "best player available" draft approach, particularly in Round 1, but the deep edge rush class shapes strategy.
• Roster and scheme alignment is ongoing; expectation is only minor offensive changes outside WR2 and RB room.
• Poles and OC Ben Johnson praise Tyson Bagent, don’t rule out a trade, and actively raise his public value (Johnson: “one of the best 32 QBs in NFL”).
• DJ Moore is considered the most likely Bear to be traded; no hard commitment from Poles.
• Filling left tackle is hosts’ #1 offseason priority, yet draft analysts largely ignore this need for the Bears.
• Sleeper NFL draft prospect highlighted: Curtis Allen (RB, Virginia Union, D2).
• Bears’ decisions on several fronts (comp picks, Bagent/Moore trades, LT acquisition) remain open as the Combine begins.

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Memorable Segment

“If you were to get a fourth or a fifth round pick for Tyson Bagent, you and I would drive him to the airport and we would help him go. I think the Bears, at minimum, they want a third. They want a third round pick that becomes a ... second round pick based on how he performs.”
(Matt Abbatacola, 17:50)

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Endnote

This episode is a must for Chicago Bears fans seeking honest, detailed, and passionate analysis of front office machinations, roster building philosophy, and early 2026 Combine narratives.

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Transcript

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[Matt Abaticola]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan,

[Dan Bernstein]

you're thinking forward Progress. Come on. 10219219

[Matt Abaticola]

forward progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.

[Dan Bernstein]

You want forward progress? You have it right now. Bernstein and abaticola here on 312 sports. And as the combine gets going and there are young men running around in their underpants and older men taking notes and oohing and eyeing at what they do. As important as that is, it's also meaningful when the powers that be representing the teams speak to their respective assembled groups of media. And that is exactly what the Bears general manager and coach did in Indianapolis today.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep. So we have a few cuts from Ryan Poles and then one from Ben Johnson. So I'll just walk you through all these cuts here that we have. We're going to start with Ryan Poles and he talked about Ian Cunningham, of course, the assistant general manager who moved on to Atlanta as their general manager. So let's hear what Ryan Polls had to say about that situation. Then some things to discuss about that too.

[Ryan Poles]

Really proud that Ian has the opportunity to be a general manager, something we've talked about for a long time. Before we even employed by the Bears, it was our vision to climb through the ranks, get a seat, the GM seat, and then help the other one get to their position as well. So really happy for him. How we do that and why we do that has nothing to do with compensation whatsoever. I want to make that very clear. On the other side, there's a set of rules that were put in place that I think can be applied to this situation. So we've communicated through the right channels. So we'll see what happens as we move forward. No one personally called me from the league, so it is a little strange. I mean, at the end of the day, you should want to develop your staff regardless of the color of their skin. I think that's important. I think we take a lot of pride with the Bears on how we have our setup, and I take a lot of pride in that. So to be compensated for. That's a little strange. I mean, I saw the Chiefs get a pick because of me, and then I watched that player go and play. It's just a little odd. But at the end of the day, if they think that's what's best to help incentivize, then that's what they wanted to do. But at the end of the day, like I said, that's not the purpose of why we develop our staff. But if that's a rule they have in place, then I think it's very clear in the situation what should happen. But we'll see what they think.

[Dan Bernstein]

What's clear. He just made it completely unclear. Is it. How hard are you going to fight for the compensatory draft picks?

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay, I'm glad you said it that way because from what I heard from everything you said, that he believes that it's not something to fight very hard for. That. That. That's what I heard from him, that he thinks it's weird. He thinks it's weird the Chiefs got a pick because he left, but it's something they have set up. So that's what they believe is important to. To incentivize the opportunity for people to get.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, no one's debating, though. That's not in question here.

[Matt Abaticola]

The question is he doesn't seem like he supports it. He doesn't seem like that to me. Says, yeah, I've reached out and have communicated. I haven't heard anything back. I thought we already had the ruling that they weren't going to give them any picks.

[Dan Bernstein]

And I also had read that they thought they had a case to go say that he is their top football person, regardless of Matt Ryan's role. Especially after Matt Ryan came out and said, hey, Ian's making all those decisions. I don't. I've never done this before. I don't have any experience at it. He's doing all that, and that renewed the idea that the Bears kind of got the shaft in this. What? That's a very strange response because it sounds to me like he's Polls. Is inoculating against concerns about hiring and promoting for the purpose of just getting picks. And that's. No one's saying that.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

No one's accusing him of that. That was weird.

[Matt Abaticola]

No one. No one is. But it is. It is weird. He may not personally think it's. It's a good rule to have in place, but it's the rule in place. And his team, his team deserves to get those. Those, sorry here, the picks.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't. I want him advocating for the Bears. I want. I want him to charge the mound on this one. Go out there, just say, hey, hey, yo.

[Matt Abaticola]

And even too, on top of that, Dan, Ian Cunningham actually said, from his understanding of the rule, the Bears deserve two draft picks.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Ian Cunningham said that himself.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, that's. That's a response I didn't expect. It's one thing for a GM to say, we respect the decision of the league. They have whatever matrix they use to make these determinations. But for some reason, he seemed to be very careful in saying, well, this is not how we set up our front office. It's not why we make the hires and things.

[Matt Abaticola]

No one's. No one said that's why you did it. But to say that it's weird and, you know, the Chiefs got to pick because of me. Then I saw that guy go play.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, exactly.

[Matt Abaticola]

Whether. Whether you agree with the rule or not or you don't like what's underlying the underlying tone of that rule, that's the rule. And those are. Those are two draft picks that your organization deserves.

[Dan Bernstein]

If. If you're not going to do it, somebody else should. Somebody else should be making those calls and asking why this didn't rise to compensatory status that it would seem to. I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

But I. But I thought, though, a week or two ago that we already heard the ruling that they weren't going to get the picks.

[Dan Bernstein]

We did. But then we heard it was possible they could appeal it. I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right. So maybe that's where they're at. But I just thought that whole thing was. I thought that was strange.

[Dan Bernstein]

I agree.

[Matt Abaticola]

I really did. All right. He was also asked about his philosophy on the first round draft pick. Like, are you looking to fill needs? You're looking for the best player. And here's what he had to say about the first round pick.

[Ryan Poles]

Yeah, philosophically, I feel the same. It's going to be the best player available. I know that may not be the most popular thing because people see, kind of like on my board have yellow tags where we need to fill in. But at the same Time. I do believe, especially in early rounds like one, you really got to stick to best player available. We saw that last year. I know there's a lot of questions like, you got Cole. Why would you take Colston? I think we found out that it helped us along the way, so we'll continue to lean into that philosophy.

[Matt Abaticola]

He also said, too, that he believes this draft class is much deeper in the edge rush than it is interior.

[Dan Bernstein]

Understandable. I also think. I think Phil needs is going to be long gone by the time they pick. I know. Yeah, I know they've had their eye and there's been a lot of scouts talking about Phil Needs, but we'll see. I think. I don't think the Bears are going to be able to have a shot at him.

[Matt Abaticola]

He was also asked about restructuring and rebuilding the defensive lines in a similar fashion that he did last year. To the offensive line.

[Ryan Poles]

Yeah, I think it's always possible. Things got to come together. That mindset was there from the day I walked in, but those opportunities, the clarity that we needed, wasn't all there. So we were able to capitalize on some cool situations there through trade and for agency. I'm not sure how that's all going to line up now. I know from a cap perspective, we probably don't have enough to make all of that work. On the defensive line, I do think on our D line, I think there are some situations, mostly injury, that didn't allow that to really come together the way it was supposed to. So I look forward to that happening. But we're also going to have to continue to bring talent in to create competition so that our defense can take the next step.

[Dan Bernstein]

They don't have the money to do what they did last year. I don't think Andy just. They had sort of a perfect storm with the Chiefs having to make a decision and making Toonie available for trade. Those. Then they give them credit because they struck. They realized what was going on and they realized that was a special opportunity. But you'd have to find something similar with a team stuck in. In a. In a cap decision place to make a move like that.

[Matt Abaticola]

And one thing that you talked about, I think it was probably last week, we talked about Dennis Allen and. And finding out what his needs are, what he wants. And so he talked a little bit about this, not just specifically to Dennis Allen, but a lot of the different coordinators as well, too, and the assistant coaches.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think that was yesterday, not last week.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, is today Tuesday?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think it was yesterday.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. It might have been.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

But anyway, Ryan Pols talked about looking at what's needed for each individual unit for the organization.

[Ryan Poles]

Yeah. You know, when we first got Dennis in, it's really for all the coaches, position coaches, coordinators. They came in and talked about what they need, like what's the prototype. I knew from what Dennis was bringing scheme change over the last few years, it was going to take a little bit of time to get exactly what we needed. But as you go through that season, you ask more questions. You sit in the weekly emails of our roster all the way to last week, hearing them go through their UFA stacks and inserting where our players line up in there, both guys under contract and not. You get more and more clarity as you go through. So I feel pretty good about that last one.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. So then he. What. What he talks about there is really what you wanted. Like, hey, what's the prototypical. What's the guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

For your scheme, for this position? What's the guy you want? What are the measures? Yeah, what can I.

[Dan Bernstein]

What can I get you? Welcome to the restaurant. What can I go to the kitchen and whip up for you?

[Matt Abaticola]

So that's something that they, you know, started last year and that's kind of I. To identify those players. And obviously you can't identify and bring in all those players to meet all those needs, you know, within one season. So obviously the focus. Well, last year was on. On the offense mainly. So we'll see if that kind of shifts this year and if the defense is the main priority. Based on what happened last year.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I don't think that personnel is going to be the difference in large part with the offense. I think improved play is going to be the big difference. And I think understanding the playing time for Luther Burden and Loveland and just figuring out running back might be an exception to that. But for the most part, I think it's reasonable to presume that this offense can produce better in year two, even as is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Dan, I think, I think I may have said that starting in week six or week eight, that we talked about the offensive unit, I said this is what your offense is going to look like moving forward. With the exception of maybe DJ Moore being gone, you add a different wide receiver and now the questions at running back in the running back room, that might look different. But I said the majority of what you see this year is what you're going to have next year. That's what it is. And I think I agree with you that, that that's what's going to happen. I also talked about the, the possibility of having to pay Caleb Williams and really figuring out all the contract situation within the organization.

[Ryan Poles]

Yeah, I'm really fortunate to have Matt Feinstein. I think he's one of the best cap guys in the league. He gives us a lot of different scenarios for us to operate in, but also showing us the short term and long term effect of each one of those decisions because we want to stay in that sweet spot where we have maximal, maximum amount of flexibility as we move on, not only from this year, but three years down the road. I hope eventually to have a quarterback situation too, where we got to pay a young quarterback so that comes into play as well. I think we're getting closer and closer to clarity on that side of things, which helps us start to build those models to make sure that again, we're doing the right thing for us moving forward and we're not putting ourselves in a situation where we got to make really, you know, tough or bad decisions down the road that hurt us.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. I mean, yeah, that's, that's Football General Managing 101.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right?

[Dan Bernstein]

That's the whole job.

[Matt Abaticola]

And we got the answer to Matt Feinstein, yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Feinstein, yes. But that's, that's the job you have. You at least have somebody there who can say, hey, if I do this now, does it hurt us later? Yes.

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[Dan Bernstein]

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[Matt Abaticola]

All right, so two, two more cuts here. One from Ryan polls, one from Ben Johnson on. On Tyson Bagent. And I'm glad that these questions were asked. And by the way, some questions that were. I don't know if I should do it during the show or talk to you off, off recording. I just. Some of the questions, man, I just don't get, like, why, why are we talking at the combine about guys that are no longer there?

[Dan Bernstein]

Why?

[Matt Abaticola]

And not only that, why Multiple questions about guys that are no longer there.

[Dan Bernstein]

Like who?

[Matt Abaticola]

The coaching staff, like who? Eric Biennamy. A couple questions to Ben Johnson about, about Declan Doyle. Like, why are we wasting time? We're at the combine. Why are we talking about guys that left? Like, people are probably do that. Not in this time. You want to get a quote about why a guy that's not there anymore. I don't know, do it some other time. Just, it's, it's annoying. But anyway, we get to Tyson Bagent, so we'll hear from Ryan polls first. And then I want to get back to. Because we have this conversation last week about Was the interest really there? Was that generated from, like, Arizona sports talk? Was it there? And I took it to a certain point, but I couldn't take it as far as I wanted to in that conversation because I didn't know what Ben Johnson truly thought of Tyson Bajan. Okay, we know that he loved Tyson Bajan, but he didn't give us a, like, a pure quarterback NFL evaluation of Tyson Bagen. But we get it in his answer. So first Ryan pulls, then Ben Johnson.

[Ryan Poles]

We anticipated someone like Tyson is going to get some, you know, interest. We've gotten a few calls there. Obviously, the tough thing is with, you know, what Ben thinks about Tyson, what I think about Tyson, what our lockdown thinks about Tyson. That's a really tough decision for us, but for Tyson as well, like, I think he's an opportunity. He would have an opportunity to go and perform for a team and do some really good things. But again, you got to weigh the short term and long term. So now what's the cost of replacement, Right, to get someone like Tyson? We spent a lot of time developing him. Ben spent a lot of time developing him, so you got to replace that as well. So interesting dynamic there that we're going to have to work through.

[Matt Abaticola]

What's that look for?

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, that's. That's not a no to trading him at all.

[Matt Abaticola]

It's not a no.

[Dan Bernstein]

That is very far from a no. That's. Make me an offer. Right. Is what that. Well, we. We'd really have to consider. We'd really have to look at that. But that is not a. It's off the table. We wouldn't consider that, but. Wow. Okay. All right. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

So now. Now listen, what. What Ben Johnson has to say about. About Tyson. Major, I love.

[Ben Johnson]

I love Tyson. That's one that kind of pulls at your heartstrings a little bit because he's someone that you care about so deeply, and he's a hell of a football player that at some point you want to see him have a chance to do it himself. And so, you know, we'll always do what's best for our team and our organization. I do think there's a lot of merit to having a strong number two quarterback, which he certainly fits that bill. I'm of the mind that he's probably one of the best 32 in the NFL. His preseason tape over the last few years has probably confirmed that, in my opinion. But self, you know, if I took myself out of the equation, you know, I want what's best for him. If he. If he Would like an opportunity to start. I certainly hope he can get that somewhere.

[Matt Abaticola]

So I, I got the answer I wanted. Ben Johnson thinks Tyson Bagen is one of the 32 best quarterbacks in a 32 quarterback league.

[Dan Bernstein]

He said, I think, yes, I think

[Matt Abaticola]

he is one of the best 32 quarterbacks in a 32 quarterback league.

[Dan Bernstein]

Why would you say that if you weren't trying to trade him?

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[Matt Abaticola]

So it goes back to our conversation last week, which I couldn't take it one step further without hearing that from Ben Johnson. And we said if you were to get a fourth or a fifth round pick for Tyson Bagen, you and I would drive him to the airport and we would help him go. I think the Bears, at minimum, they want a third. They want a third round pick that becomes a, it's a conditional third round that becomes a second round pick based on how he performs. Then I think they would trade tight. They think he's a starter in this league. A starter.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

Believe they have two.

[Dan Bernstein]

If he's a starter, they should get a first.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, you're not going to get a first for that guy. You're just not, I think they're realistic about that. You're not going to get a first round pick for a guy that hasn't played any extended time that was an undrafted free agent.

[Dan Bernstein]

Well, I'm saying though, if you could develop an undrafted free agent quarterback and flip that for a third, which additional

[Matt Abaticola]

third, that becomes a second.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's a ridiculous, you know, development victory 100%. So it doesn't. And they wouldn't talk like that if they didn't want the phone to ring. No.

[Matt Abaticola]

And he said he's got a few calls now. I want to know, is it, you know, three calls from the same guy? Is it three? Three different teams?

[Dan Bernstein]

Is it a prank call?

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know. Yeah, you know, so I'm curious to, you know, that's.

[Dan Bernstein]

He, he left a lot of Doors open, too, if we're looking at the stuff that he said about DJ Moore, stuff that Polls did. Because it sounds like, at least as things stand now over the next handful of days, there could be a lot of talks. There could be. There really could. Because when he was asked about DJ Moore and he said, I've got to have conversations and see what the best combination of players we can bring in, but we want him here. We think highly of him. He's a great teammate. He's been productive pretty consistently over the last couple of years that he's been here. I have nothing but great things to say about him. But this is the time where we have to look at all the different scenarios and see what can allow us to put the best team we can out there. There's relationships there. There's a lot there that makes it really, really difficult. He's a guy we want here, but we have to look at all the different scenarios.

[Matt Abaticola]

So for me, going into this off season, if I were to have two categories, Most likely to trade, most likely to cut. For me, on the most likely to trade side, number one is DJ Moore. Number two is Tyson Baja. Most likely to cut is Tremaine Edmonds.

[Dan Bernstein]

I think that's the consensus. Yes, I would agree, but, boy, that is. That is very far from a commitment to DJ Moore. And that sounds to me like Ryan Polls is also telegraphing to his counterparts around the league that, yeah, you want to. You want to take this 25 million. Yep. No doubt. There was also this little piece of news regarding left tackle that they were saying that the Joe Tuney thing was only an emergency for one game. He's at left guard, and they want to have Jonah Jackson and Darnell right next to each other on the right side. So they are in the market for a left tackle understanding all of the uncertainties that currently surround Ozzie Tropillo and the torn patellar tendon in his knee.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And I'm just curious to see how they. Because again, and we. We've talked about this, too. That is. My number one priority in this off season, is addressing left tackle. And I know we're concerned about edge rusher, and we're talking about interior, the defensive line, and safety. Yeah, I get all those. You need a left tackle. You do not have a left tackle. You cannot go into this season with. All right, we'll just fill it with a guy. It's that. You cannot do that. They need to. For me, that. That's priority number one. You've got to address the left Tackle issue. You have to. It's awful what happened to Tropillo and if he plays next year, great. But if he even has an opportunity to get back on the field, he should be later in the year. And you have to answer that question with a solid answer with a solid starter. Yeah, I doubt that. If that's free agency, if that's in the draft, it's got to be your priority.

[Dan Bernstein]

I have plenty of doubts whether or not Trapillo is going to be a contributing player at all next year. My guess would be no. And even though they've pushed back against the idea of this injury being career threatening, career changing from doctors, I trust everybody to a person says it is.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, no, I mean, you're probably right. And he probably will have an opportunity to be on the field next year before the season ends, but he just won't because they won't have a need for him because they'll have that filled.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And it's not a developmental year. You're trying to win the Super Bowl.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

It would be one thing if this were several years ago or even to the point early last year when they had to take that, that awful training camp battle further into the regular season and move guys around from the Raiders game on through there. So there's no screwing around next year. None. And you're right, it's too bad that they have had that kind of setback where the presumption is as his being asked all these questions about you got to fix it like it fixed the offensive line. Well, the offensive line isn't done right now. The most important position there.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right.

[Dan Bernstein]

Needs to be acquired.

[Matt Abaticola]

Right. Because you don't have that guy in the building. So you need to figure that out. And again, and I'm not advocating one way or the other, it just, it needs to be solved and it needs to be solved without, without any question marks like, well, hopefully this is the guy that can, that can fill that, that void. No, no. Who's your starter? Who's your starter? And the day you bring him in, he's not there just for next year. It's not just a one year fix. It's not. He's not holding a place for anybody. Like, I'm sorry, Isaac Tripillo played great when he got the opportunities and he really. And he developed and started coming along. But you can't look at it as a guy that's going to hold a place for 20, 26 for Azure Chapilo. It's a guy that we're bringing in that is our left Tackle for the future.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. If Ozzie Tropillo comes back and is able to be in any kind of viable player, let alone reach whatever his top ranges were when you drafted him in the second round. That's all a bonus at this point.

[Matt Abaticola]

Correct.

[Dan Bernstein]

I'm not, I'm not concerned about him. I'm concerned about the Bears. Yes.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And that's, that's brutal. But that's, that's how the business goes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

They, they need to find their starting left tackle. That's going to be there for Caleb Williams future contract and that's not going

[Dan Bernstein]

to be a draft pick this year. I just doubt that they're going to draft somebody and plug them in on this team like that veteran guy. It's going to be a veteran. It may be somebody who has played right, who you can move left. You might have to make some compromises and trust Dan Roshar when it, when it comes to cost because there really isn't that person right now.

[Matt Abaticola]

Any other, any other comments or things to, to talk about from either Ben Johnson or.

[Dan Bernstein]

No. That you saw? Not really from this. I just, I would like, I said my, one of my big questions, I would like to know how hard they're going to go to the league and say you screwed us over on these compensatory picks and we should get them.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Because it really, I didn't, I didn't really like Ryan pulls his answer.

[Dan Bernstein]

No. I didn't understand the angle from which he was approaching it.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Like if you, if you feel that it's a weird thing and you feel like, oh, that's not why we do this to get draft picks. You didn't make up the rule. It's the rule in place. Don't fight against it. And I wouldn't put it out there publicly that you're not really that interested in it. I don't like that. Like, I prefer that he'd go the opposite direction and be like, yeah, I'm pissed about it. This is the rule in place. This guy's running the Atlanta Falcons, making all their football decisions. We deserve those picks. I want my picks.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. And I haven't heard, I haven't heard a reasonable explanation to say why we don't have them yet.

[Matt Abaticola]

Even when the guy that got that, got that job says, yeah, they deserve picks. He said it. The guy who was president said, I'm not making any football decisions. This guy is like, fight harder for it.

[Dan Bernstein]

Polls.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't get the whole idea of calling it weird. And it's not why we do it. No one says you did.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, well, either way, just get a better explanation than we've gotten so far.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, and we'll see. We'll see what comes of that as well. Mel Kuiper put his, his first draft, his mock draft out your guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

I have it called up right in front of me right now. Yes, I was going to get to that next because I. This was the first name that, that had. The first time, we didn't see either the safety Emanuel McNeil. Warren. Warren. Or Zion Young. And this is Kaden McDonald, defensive tackle, Ohio State. It's a name that is well known, Right?

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, no, we. We've. We've seen this in other mock drafts for the Bears.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know. I have. I've been tracking. I have my list somewhere, but yeah, we've seen his name before. One of the, one of the more popular names as well, too. So Cade McDonald comes up and actually Mel Kuiper has him as his number one defensive tackle on the board.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay. Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Again, we don't. We're not here to debate the draft picks or the mock draft. I'm just, I want to put him out there and just track them and so we get them, get it all out there. Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

The only thing I did notice, the one, the pick that is two slots later, and that's Caden Proctor, the offensive lineman from Alabama, because he. If you like the good stuff, if you watch the highlights and get tantalized by the highlights, that stuff's real good. And then most of the experts say, yeah, well, he's in. This goes for most people.

[Matt Abaticola]

You're.

[Dan Bernstein]

You're never as good as your highlights show. But he's, he's had some, some bad situations as well, but he's a really big, good athlete.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. Hey, I, you know, you, you said your, your feeling is that they won't address tackle position with the draft. If they take a tackle at 25, I'm down.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Well, you. If it's pro. I like Proctor.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah.

[Dan Bernstein]

I really do. Because then you've got. Around that area, you got the Clemson kid. That's Miller. Right. And I think he's considered more of a right tackle than a left. I don't know. I'm always concerned about the, how the positions are defined because so many college tackles end up being interior linemen and just don't have the athleticism, size, or length to handle the tackle spot in the NFL.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. And I saw on SI, they had 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 players for Bears fans to Keep an eye on.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And again, these are all defensive players. Cade McDonald, Lee Hunter, Caleb Banks. He's not going to be at 25. Dylan Feynman. Or is it Feynman again? I should probably look that up. See how they say that kid's name from Oregon, the safety, TJ Parker, the defensive end from Clemson, and then Anthony Hill Jr. The linebacker from Texas. Just telling you, man, there's. There's a, there's a big. There's a gaping hole right now in the offense, and it's that left tackle position. And I just don't know if, if people are just not considering that looking at it. If it's just, oh, they did the offense last year. Now it's, you know, this year they're going to do the defense. Why not? Not one person is talking about a tackle position for the Bears at all in any of these mock drafts.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

Don't get it.

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know. I think you're right to prioritize it where you are, though.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yep. Kaden McDonald on NFL.com his prospect ranking is a 6.39, which is, you know, eventual starter. Plus Peter woods, another name that we saw mentioned with the, with the Bears a couple different times. A 6.36. So.

[Ryan Poles]

All.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right there. All right. I have another name I want to throw at you. Another obscure name, a name that maybe you wouldn't think of or, or hear about, but a guy that I've read a few different times now about on different websites. A running back out of Virginia Union. So now It's a Division 2 school.

[Dan Bernstein]

Charles Oakley.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's right. He did go to Virginia Union.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, he did.

[Matt Abaticola]

So they have a running back. He's a senior. Curtis Allen is his name. And so running back out of a Division 2 Virginia Union. He finished with 2,400 yards rushing last year and 30 touchdowns in 12 games. Again, I know, I know the competition's there, but he's six, two, 2:15.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

He's not, he's not one of the, like, he's not 510, you know, 200 pounds. This is a, this is a big boy.

[Dan Bernstein]

Six, two, two, 15 guys right here, man. You can't.

[Matt Abaticola]

I'm not Bad mouth and common on guy. I'm just saying this is just a guy.

[Dan Bernstein]

220.

[Matt Abaticola]

This is just a guy. Curtis Allen.

[Dan Bernstein]

Good name.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I love it. And I, I have to look at. I, I. Do they do Division 2 guys get to go to the combine? Do they get invites? I haven't looked at the running backs

[Dan Bernstein]

to see, I don't know. But this here's the gambler's fallacy for you.

[Matt Abaticola]

Why?

[Dan Bernstein]

As we were just talking about what they could do if they were able to flip Tyson Bagent and have an undrafted D2 guy end up being a third round pick for him or more, what would the odds be that one NFL team has two major D2 successes or like even making their roster?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, you're right again.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right. But gambler's fallacy, yeah, you can flip that coin any number of times. Even if it's been nine heads in a row. Still 50. 50 on that 10th.

[Matt Abaticola]

Anyway, if you're, if you're the kind of like football nerd that likes to look into stuff before the draft and the combine, look at Curtis Allen, running back, Virginia Union, 2400 yards, 30 touchdowns in 12 games. Six two to 15. All right. And I have, I have one last thing for you. I was looking at the NFL upcoming schedule and they're going to have, they're going to have nine international games this year.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

And a few of these games are set already. But I wanted to ask you, world traveler Dan Bernstein, and part of, part of this trip that you, that you get to partake in, part of this trip includes going to the football game. So you can't just go to one of these cities, you have to go to the game as well.

[Dan Bernstein]

Have to go to the game in the city. Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

But you get, you get a free trip, you get first class travel, you get a beautiful hotel, five star hotel. But part of your itinerary is going to this game. So are you interested in Melbourne, which is the 49ers and the Rams? That's been confirmed. Rio de Janeiro, which is Cowboys and tbd. Paris, which is the Saints and tbd, Munich, which will have the Lions. Madrid, which will have the Packers, Mexico City or one of the three London games. So London, Mexico City, Madrid, Munich, Paris, Rio de Janeiro or Melbourne.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

All of part of part of your trip, you have to go to the game.

[Dan Bernstein]

The answer is all of them. Okay. But I've, if I want to take off the ones I haven't been to, I. So I've been to Paris, I've been to Madrid, I've been to Mexico City, I've been to London.

[Matt Abaticola]

London, yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

So the others are Rio,

[Matt Abaticola]

Melbourne, Melbourne and Munich.

[Dan Bernstein]

And Munich, I would say Munich, you get the Lions.

[Matt Abaticola]

And could you possibly get a Bears game? Do you think the NFL would take such a big rivalry game and put that international?

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't know. I'm not, I'm not. I'm not going to consider Bears possibilities here. Okay, how, first of all, how long would I get to stay? How long would, like, outside of the football stuff, would I have extra time or do I have to, like, go to the game, come back and I'm.

[Matt Abaticola]

Let's make it okay. They're not going to give you a week there because it's free, but they. Let's say you get. You get two days before the game to do whatever you want. You have the day of the game, then you have the day after the game to still be there, and then you leave two days later, you leave a day after that. So Melbourne, you have. You have three full days in the city outside of the football game day.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's not, it's not enough time to justify the flight times for Melbourne. For me, it's just too much travel.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right, what's. Let's say they give you a week. Let's make it a week. A week. I'm a little more interested.

[Dan Bernstein]

But if I'm doing Australia, I'm there a lot more than a week.

[Matt Abaticola]

Okay. You could stay longer. You just do it on your own dime.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah. Well, you make a busman's holiday, as they say. Yeah, I think I'm going to go Australia.

[Matt Abaticola]

You'd go Australia?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

So you're going to go see the 49ers and Rams. It's funny that you. The ones you have. Because I do want to go to London. I've never been to London, but I'm not sure I want to go to London to go see a football game. So for this particular exercise, you wouldn't

[Dan Bernstein]

go to London to see an American football game. You'd go there to see a Premier League game?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes. I think for me, for this exercise, I would go to either. Either Rio de Janeiro or Munich.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay,

[Matt Abaticola]

so lions and whoever and cowboys and whoever.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I don't. I mean, Munich. I've actually, I've been to Germany, but I haven't seen Germany because I've just. I've flown through Munich and I've flown through Dusseldorf, but I've.

[Matt Abaticola]

I've noticed on the airports.

[Dan Bernstein]

Saw the airports in those cities, but.

[Matt Abaticola]

Do you have a beer and a pretzel?

[Dan Bernstein]

No. I did, however, have a waffle in Brussels at the airport. Probably should. I did make sure I actually had. And then they lost my suitcase. Was it good, losing my suitcase?

[Matt Abaticola]

No, the waffle.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, it's fine.

[Matt Abaticola]

You would think that'd be better than fine.

[Dan Bernstein]

I Will say, though, sometimes you get lucky at an airport for a good version of a regional classic, because you want to know the biggest secret? And I know this is something that Beth is going to do this weekend because she's going down to see Jason. The Cafe Du Monde at the airport

[Matt Abaticola]

in New York is better than.

[Dan Bernstein]

The restaurant is better than the one at Jackson Square. Yes. And I don't know why, but I'm saying the beignets are actually better. You're not going to get the, you know, sitting along the shore, and you're not going to get the ambience, the experience of it. All. Right. But the actual quality of the beignets is not even close. They're better at the airport one. I think they must be just either changing out the oil better or it's not as much of an, you know, one of these giant assembly line kind of places. And that. That would be. So do that when you. When you first get there, the first time you get off the plane in Louis Armstrong Airport and you see, oh, Cafe Dumont, get the beignets there. Then if you want to walk around the square later, you're like, all, I already had those. I don't have to go sit down and wait and get covered in powdered sugar.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. But I. I would. I disagree with you. Even though I haven't done it, if. If I were to do it, I would. I would do it the reverse way. I would take the experience first, and then on the. On the way out, and then grab the beignet, say, oh, yeah, they are better. But I. I wouldn't want to ruin the experience before it happened, knowing that the beignets won't be as good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, okay. No, I get it. Yeah. No, I understand your logic there.

[Matt Abaticola]

You know, it made me think of when you said you had a waffle in Belgium and I asked if it was good. You know the worst bratwurst I ever had?

[Dan Bernstein]

Lambeau Field.

[Matt Abaticola]

No. At Miller Park.

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, so bad. Yeah. Don't use their special sauce either.

[Matt Abaticola]

That. That wasn't special sauce.

[Dan Bernstein]

No. What they call their brat sauce. Yeah. Yeah. You know what? Here's what was funny. I had a great one at the old County Stadium, and I don't know if they changed it or maybe I just. I caught a brick, and sometimes you just end up with a bad one. And I wasn't a sample. But it was also something about their. The contract there, because was it. It was Clements sausages. And then I think it changed. I think their supplier might have changed over the years. And I don't know if it changed with when they moved to Miller park or a change afterward, but I do remember having a really good one. I had a.

[Matt Abaticola]

It was a bad one at Miller Park. The best. God. One of the best sausages I've had at a baseball game was up a couple years ago when I saw the Twins and White Sox and there's a vendor that's like homemade sausages. Some family run business. Oh, it's so good. That was good stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

I heard the walleye there is good. It's like either walleye on a stick or I don't know if it's a walleye, like a sandwich or a basket or something. It's supposed to be.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I didn't have any fish. I had the sausage. Okay, Good stuff.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

So you're going to Melbourne?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, yeah. No, I'm not. I'm not going to Melbourne. It's not for that time if I'm.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah. So they'll give you a week. That's not long enough. Yeah, I'd rather a couple weeks in Melbourne.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, I mean, you're on a plane for 17 hours or whatever it is, you're completely messed up. It's going to take you two days to get acclimated before you can, you know, figure out what you're doing and where you're doing it. And I want to see more than Melbourne. If I'm going to Australia, I'm taking a month and I'm seeing everywhere going to the atma.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I'm not, I'm just not interested in being on a plane for that long.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, but first class.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, it have to be first class. But still, that's.

[Dan Bernstein]

That's. Yeah, it's a long time.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's a real long time.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. Some of these planes have like the little workout things though, like the, those like stationary bike things that they can put at your seat, you know, that

[Matt Abaticola]

would help now if I can get one of those. Like where I get my own bedroom on a plane. You've seen those, right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Oh, yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Now I'm good.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

Yeah.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I could do that.

[Dan Bernstein]

The full bedroom thing.

[Matt Abaticola]

I want to.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, there's got to be some wild stuff that goes on in those. Man.

[Matt Abaticola]

I would, I would think so if people have. Doing it in the regular bathrooms.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, but have you seen. That's like the, have you seen the Christy Noam, Corey Lewandowski plane?

[Matt Abaticola]

I haven't and I'm. I'm glad I haven't either. So not, not interested.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's unbelievable. Like it's we're paying for it. You're paying for it. You might as well see it. Yeah. So both of they can. The married couple can fly around the country and share a bed, I guess. I don't know.

[Matt Abaticola]

The actual activity at the combine starts Thursday. Is that right?

[Dan Bernstein]

Other people? No, there's activity out there.

[Matt Abaticola]

I've seen the videos, the players and stuff. They already started.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought it was Thursday. No, I think they're already. There's videos up there. Unless they're fake videos. There's people doing things.

[Matt Abaticola]

Are they old videos?

[Dan Bernstein]

I don't think so. I was looking at. I thought it was the Iowa. Who's the Iowa return?

[Matt Abaticola]

Were you doing some scouting of old videos?

[Dan Bernstein]

I was. I was going back and looking at the guys.

[Matt Abaticola]

Xavier. Worthy guy, fast. Look at him.

[Dan Bernstein]

This Percy Harvin can really move.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, he's Joe Montana.

[Dan Bernstein]

Whoa. Yeah. I'm glad Mike McCarthy developed.

[Matt Abaticola]

Mike McCarthy?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. It's like a McCarthy quarterback through and through right here. I like what I saw from this Montana kid, but the. No, they were showing the Iowa return guy who everybody loves. He's like the second coming of Tim Dwight. Oh, remember him?

[Matt Abaticola]

Waiting for that.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yes. Iowa.

[Matt Abaticola]

Been waiting for the second coming of.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, people love the guy. His name is Caden Weegen Kaden with a K, W, E, T, J, E, N. People love the man. So write that down. Remember that name, Caden. I think it's Weechen.

[Matt Abaticola]

All right.

[Dan Bernstein]

I thought it was Thursday. Why did I think that? I don't think so. I think they get right after it. Otherwise, what are they going to do?

[Matt Abaticola]

All day interviews and they're hanging out,

[Dan Bernstein]

taking tests, MRIs and shrimp.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, put your underwear on and all

[Dan Bernstein]

that great central Indiana shrimp that they dig out of the ground. They go. They go over to the. The local shrimp farm.

[Matt Abaticola]

Well, I heard they were. They were flying in the local specialty from Bourbon A. Oh, you got to

[Dan Bernstein]

get the eggs here that. You got to import all of your eggs from Bourbon Eggs.

[Matt Abaticola]

They get eggs and then Indiana shrimp and maybe you get some grits from Louisiana.

[Dan Bernstein]

You went to Indianapolis? What did you eat there? Well, you can't miss the shrimp. What? They're land shrimp, I think.

[Matt Abaticola]

Not radioactive, but it's still good.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, you got to go to downtown Indianapolis in the very middle. Go as far as you possibly can from any ocean to get shrimp. Oh, is it edible? Yeah, they make it super spicy. You could barely taste it. Okay, it's edible.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yes.

[Dan Bernstein]

Perfect. Awesome. I'm glad that. That is the local specialty.

[Matt Abaticola]

Land shrimp.

[Dan Bernstein]

Land shrimp. Well, There are land. There are land crabs and I guess wouldn't like. If you ate scorpion. That would be kind of like a crayfish, wouldn't it?

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, but why would you, though? Do people eat scorpion?

[Dan Bernstein]

I've eaten scorpion.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, you have?

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah. It tastes like everything else.

[Matt Abaticola]

Like chicken.

[Dan Bernstein]

No, it tastes like fried stuff. You know, just a crunchy, yummy fried. It tastes like soft shell crab. Kind of not quite as rich and sweet.

[Matt Abaticola]

I like soft shell crab.

[Dan Bernstein]

I love soft shell crab. Yeah, but.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, well, you don't need the whole thing.

[Dan Bernstein]

Do you, like, pop in your mouth?

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't know, it just. It doesn't sound interesting to me.

[Dan Bernstein]

It's good. It's certainly interesting. Yeah. You can't say it's not interesting.

[Matt Abaticola]

Yeah, I'm not interested.

[Dan Bernstein]

To eat a scorpion or a member of the Scorpions.

[Matt Abaticola]

Now that's a difference.

[Dan Bernstein]

Now they're in Munich. Yeah. You could find them there. There. They're singing in Munich, no question. And in the rain. All right, well, let's see who they trade first, whether it's DJ Moore or Tyson.

[Matt Abaticola]

Oh, yeah, that's. What's.

[Dan Bernstein]

What's that?

[Matt Abaticola]

What do I have? DJ Moore, Tyson Bajan. So three phone calls. They've had a few calls on Tyson Bajan.

[Dan Bernstein]

Few calls for one of the top quarterback, a starting level quarterback.

[Matt Abaticola]

Sounds like he says he's one of the top 32 in the league, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

Yeah, keep fluffing, keep glazing.

[Matt Abaticola]

That's a third. Third. That's a conditional third. Turns into a second when he starts half the season.

[Dan Bernstein]

Did you just come up with that out of whole cloth or do you. Did you. Did somebody talk to you about that?

[Matt Abaticola]

What do you mean?

[Dan Bernstein]

About why you. You're very specific on the conditional third becoming a second.

[Matt Abaticola]

No, I haven't talked to anyone. I don't talk to people.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay.

[Matt Abaticola]

I don't.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right.

[Matt Abaticola]

I haven't. I don't talk to people.

[Dan Bernstein]

Just wondering why that sneaked in there.

[Matt Abaticola]

Nothing. Snuck in anywhere and sneaked in anywhere.

[Dan Bernstein]

Okay, Just making sure.

[Matt Abaticola]

I was just, just. I'm just saying, man.

[Dan Bernstein]

All right, well, I mean, unless it's

[Matt Abaticola]

for a, you know, conditional third that turns into a second. Why would you make that move?

[Dan Bernstein]

There it is then. You've.

[Matt Abaticola]

You've.

[Dan Bernstein]

You've put the price out there now for what it's going to take to. To pry the great Tyson Bagent away from the.

[Matt Abaticola]

Hey, he's one of the top 32

[Dan Bernstein]

in the league, okay?

[Matt Abaticola]

And that is one of the greatest offensive minds in the league.

[Dan Bernstein]

Right now, that is Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears and NFL podcast on 312 Sports Sports

[Matt Abaticola]

Forward Progress is stopped. Forward Progress Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports

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