It’s official: Bears won’t get any compensatory draft picks for Ian Cunningham's departure (Hour 4)
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Why didn't the Bears receive compensatory draft picks for Ian Cunningham's departure?
This is Rahimi Harrison-Groney on 104.3 The Score on this Tuesday. And yesterday, the NFL announced that it gave out 33 compensatory picks to 15 teams. The Bears were not one of them. The Baltimore Ravens got four. The Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers also got four. 49ers got three. Cowboys, Broncos, Lions, Colts, Raiders, Rams all got two apiece along with the Jets. And then the Packers, Chiefs, Vikings, and Saints all got one. And these don't get taken from anybody. They're extra picks that are added to the draft.
What factors influenced the NFL's decision on compensatory picks?
And it goes back to us finally finding out once and for all that despite Ian Cunningham leaving as the assistant general manager here and being promoted to a position higher than that in Atlanta, where he is now working with Matt Ryan and the Falcons, the NFL in its eyes did not see Ian Cunningham getting a promotion, even though as a black man who was in a front office in the NFL, They didn't think he did enough, and the Falcons didn't do enough, even though by definition he's doing more there to warrant the title of promotion because Matt Ryan, who needs help learning how to run a football team, is titled above him. Matt Ryan describing this sounds like he's his intern or something. That's the crazy part about all this.
He basically says, I don't know how to run an NFL team. And credit to Matt Ryan for saying that because a lot of people in his position wouldn't. So listen to what Matt Ryan says when it comes to how he defines this. The difference is I'm not doing the scouting. I'm not, you know, doing, running those meetings. Our general manager would do that. The general manager role is going to be exactly the same as what it's been here before. And that's something we've made clear to everybody on the coaching side that we've met with up until this point. And we'll make clear, you know, through that process to the general managers that we're going to look at in that process as well. Terrence, anybody In either of those positions, I mean, they're not going to want to compromise the best people, which is the only people we're talking to.
They will have no interest in compromising their job and be less of who they could be and should be in their role. And Matt has no desire to maximize his role with them or to overstep his role. That was Arthur Blink, the Falcon's owner, also describing what is inherent here. And we've talked about this a lot with Mike Florio. There's the concept of the letter of the law and the spirit of the law.
How does Ian Cunningham's promotion affect the Bears' draft strategy?
And when nobody else is paying... What is it to the NFL, to a team and two teams, and the Bears and the Falcons both acknowledging the spirit of the law and respecting it, and understanding that Ian Cunningham didn't just move to Atlanta for the Magic City hoodie. Again, that would be a wonderful reason to move there. It would be, but that's not what happened here. He didn't just move there for kicks. He didn't just leave a good position with the Bears, which he has had many chances to be able to try to do so. He did this because he got a promotion. The action alone would indicate he got a promotion. He talked about how he got a promotion at the combine. I haven't had much time to really dive into like the, the, the wording, um, of it.
Uh, it was always my interpretation. That if a general manager gets hired, that team would receive two third round picks. I'm a general manager, I was hired. I would think that they would get two third round picks. I don't know the wording of it, that's just my perspective. Again, I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for them giving me that job and helping me grow to get this job right now. So he doesn't know why the Bears wouldn't be receiving compensatory picks. And then add to that a feeling that I'm pretty sure you know all too well, Marshall, and many of us listening know all too well, which is Ryan Poles having to explain himself regarding a law that already was on the books. I think 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.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why didn't the Bears receive compensatory draft picks for Ian Cunningham's departure?
0:05–0:44
2
What factors influenced the NFL's decision on compensatory picks?
0:44–2:58
3
How does Ian Cunningham's promotion affect the Bears' draft strategy?
2:58–4:54
4
What insights does Matt Ryan provide about Ian Cunningham's role?
4:54–6:26
5
What is the significance of the 'spirit of the law' in NFL decisions?
6:26–8:07
6
How does Ryan Poles defend the Bears' staff development practices?
8:07–10:08
7
What scouting report does Dave Wyman provide on new Bears safety Coby Bryant?
10:08–11:26
8
What are the implications of the Bears' roster changes for the upcoming season?
11:26–39:23
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