Mike Florio

And you just wonder if the NFL is going to stay stubborn on that or whether or not they'll,

eventually relent to what the facts seem to be telling us.

I think that's a great point.

Now, Matt Ryan is here interviewing prospects in these meetings that they do, and I was surprised to hear that.

You know, Tom Brady's not here, and he's working in close collaboration with GM John Spitek.

So this is a real job that Matt Ryan has.

And, you know, the initial feedback I got when this all first came up and Matt Ryan said at the Super Bowl that Ian Cunningham is running free agency in the draft, another GM texted

This is just Matt Ryan trying to maybe give himself a little bit of a safe harbor.

If things don't work out, I didn't pick these guys.

I didn't draft these guys.

But as far as the league's concerned, he's in charge.

And I think enough's been said this week to justify another question to the NFL about, number one, is this really the rule?

And number two, what's the spirit of the rule?

Because I don't care about what's on paper.

As you said, it sure feels like Ian Cunningham got a promotion.

And he's the general manager.

And even if there's another person in the organization who's got the president of football operations title, Ian's running the show.

Matt Ryan said it.

And the easy thing for the NFL to do is just give the Bears the compensatory picks and acknowledge the program that the league put in place to try to rectify decades of substandard hiring practice.

Well, yeah.