PHOENIX, AZ., — The Chicago Bears continue to make a push to land compensatory picks from the NFL even after the league ruled not in favor of it a few weeks back. With the NFL draft under a month away, Chicago isn't ready to concede just yet.
After Ian Cunningham was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as general manager, the league decided that president Matt Ryan was the primary decision-maker in their front office. That caused the league not to give the Bears a third-round pick in 2026 or 2027. But now, the Bears are pushing for an appeal of the decision with the league office.
At the NFL league meeting on Wednesday, both president and CEO Kevin Warren and owner George McCaskey said the Bears have filed an appeal and are expecting a decision "soon" from the NFL. But what's interesting is that the Bears, including Warren and McCaskey along with Ryan Poles, made a trip to New York City to appeal in person with the league.
The league decided not to award the picks because Ryan is the primary football executive in Atlanta. However, Ryan himself has said Cunningham is the team's general manager. He said as much as recently as Monday on an appearance on ProFootball Talk:
"He is the G.M.," Ryan told PFT Live on Monday. "He is the G.M. I'm learning — I mean, you talk about things that are coming on your desk every day, management council things, different things like that, why they rule certain ways, why they don't rule certain ways. I'm not experienced enough to give you a really credible answer on that at this point. I would say this, I think in every facet of the word, Ian's a General Manager in this league."
It appears clear, especially with Ryan saying that, who is in charge of football decisions in Atlanta. But because of the front office structure, the NFL ruled against the Bears.
This will be an interesting situation to watch over the next few days, and with the NFL draft rapidly approaching, it could make an impact in terms of the draft order.
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