Panthers acquire No. 1 overall pick from Bears

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers are on the clock.

The Panthers have traded up to acquire the No. 1 overall pick in the draft from the Chicago Bears in exchange for Carolina’s No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks in 2023, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025 and star wide receiver D.J. Moore, two people familiar with the deal said Friday.

The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.

The move allows the Panthers to acquire a potential franchise quarterback — the sort of player the team has coveted for years — although it remains unclear which QB Carolina prefers. The Bears are committed to Justin Fields at quarterback and that gave them leverage to trade down.

Carolina has its choice of Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s CJ Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis or Florida’s Anthony Richardson.

The Panthers may not have gotten the QB they wanted if they had stayed at No. 9.

“You go get the guy that you want, you know,” Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer said last week at the scouting combine about potentially trading up for a quarterback. “If you have a conviction on a guy, you go get him. It’s pretty simple that way. If you don’t know and you’re going to give all these resources to go up and get it, you’re hurting your team in the long run. You better be right. You better have conviction if you do move up. When you do that, you’re all in.”

The Panthers have been seeking stability at quarterback since David Tepper bought the team in 2018.

They have tried several starters — including Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Teddy Bridgewater and even bringing back Cam Newton for a second stint. But none of those options has worked out and Carolina hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2017.

The Minnesota Vikings have released wide receiver Adam Thielen for salary cap relief. The move ends a remarkable 10-year run with his home-state team as an undrafted underdog.

Thielen was carrying the second-largest cap hit on the club behind quarterback Kirk Cousins. The move will stick the Vikings with more than $13.5 million in dead money for 2023. It created $6.4 million in additional space.

Thielen made the team out of a rookie tryout camp in 2013 after playing at Division II Minnesota State. He has 55 receiving touchdowns for the third most in Vikings history.

New England Patriots safety Devin McCourty is retiring from the NFL, ending a 13-year run with the team that included winning three Super Bowl rings.

McCourty made his announcement in a video on Instagram, calling his career a great ride.

The 35-year-old went into the offseason wavering about his future with the Patriots along with fellow longtime captain Matt Slater.

The 37-year-old Slater ultimately made the decision to return for a 16th season, but McCourty said the timing to hang up his cleats felt right.

The Miami Dolphins are picking up the fifth-year option on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s contract, according to an AP sourcer.

Tagovailoa, who Miami drafted fifth overall in 2020, will enter the fourth year of his rookie deal this upcoming season and will be guaranteed $23.2 million. The Dolphins have already informed him of the decision.

Tagovailoa set career-highs in passing touchdowns, passing yards and passer rating in a breakout 2022 season.

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had surgery on his injured throwing elbow that should allow him to return to play possibly as early as the start of next season.

The 49ers said Dr. Keith Meister conducted an internal brace repair to Purdy’s right elbow.

The team said Purdy is anticipated to start a throwing progression program in three months. The typical timeline for a full return is six months, which would be the start of the 2023 regular season.

Otis Taylor, the longtime Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver who along with quarterback Len Dawson formed one of the NFL’s dynamic duos, died Thursday after more than a decade of health problems. He was 80.

Taylor’s family, who had been caring for him as he dealt with Parkinson’s disease and dementia, confirmed that he had passed away a mere seven months after Dawson, his close friend and teammate.

Taylor finished his career with 7,306 yards receiving and 57 touchdowns while helping the Chiefs beat the Vikings in the 1970 Super Bowl. He has often been considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame but has continually come up short in voting.

The Los Angeles Rams released pass-rushing linebacker Leonard Floyd after three productive seasons.

Floyd led the Rams last season with nine sacks while making 59 tackles, including 10 for loss.

The Super Bowl champion had 29 total sacks and never missed a game during three seasons with Los Angeles, which signed him as a free agent in April 2020.

The NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles have signed veteran defensive end Brandon Graham to a one-year contract. Terms were not announced Friday.

Graham was eligible to become a free agent next week. He enters next season on the brink of setting Philadelphia’s career record for games played.

Graham has played in 178 games. David Akers holds the record at 188 games. Graham had 11 sacks this past season for the Eagles.

The Tennessee Titans continued the renovation of their offensive line Friday as they released 11-year veteran center Ben Jones a year after signing him to a two-year extension.

Jones started every game he played for Tennessee with 108 games. The center was limited by injuries to 12 starts in 2022.

Jones finished the season on injured reserve after his second concussion in a month. The center turns 34 in July.