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The Carolina Panthers made a blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bears to get the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and they have no plans to use it as bait to trade for Lamar Jackson, general manager Scott Fitterer said on Monday.
Fitterer said the “focus is on drafting and developing a QB rather than pursuing Lamar Jackson,” he said at a press conference.
“Like anything, you always have a conversation,” Fitterer explained. “But we were looking…He’s a great option — a really expensive option — But we’re focused on more of the draft picks at this point.”
The 49-year-old executive also said that the Panthers have “conviction” on multiple signal-callers.
“We feel good about that group up top,” he said. He also confirmed that no teams have called about trading up for the No. 1 pick.
Fitterer says he’ll be at the pro days for the top four quarterbacks: CJ Stroud, Bryce Young and Will Levis this week, and Anthony Richardson on Mar. 30. So it seems safe to assume the No. 1 pick will be used on one of those four standout quarterbacks.
ESPN's Adam Schefter last week said that they have a favorite out of the group.
“They made the bold move last week to trade up to get to No. 1. And now, they’ll sift through the quarterback options,” Schefter said on Thursday’s episode of NFL Live. “And I think going into the process of evaluating the quarterbacks, I think that Bryce Young is the favorite to become the No. 1 overall pick.”
As Baltimore placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Lamar Jackson, he is free to negotiate a contract with other teams as an offer sheet; the Ravens would then be owed two first-round picks in return for Jackson if the team decided not to match the offer, per Pro Football Talk.
It looks like that will not be the case in Carolina, as Scott Fitterer and the Panthers will almost certainly pick either Bryce Young or CJ Stroud come April's NFL Draft.