The Chicago Bears lost some key contributors this offseason, including most notably assistant general manager Ian Cunningham, who was hired by the Atlanta Falcons as their new GM. It was a move that was a long time coming, but one that was also promised to bring two third-round compensatory picks.
But the NFL appears to disagree. While the league hasn’t officially awarded 2026 compensatory picks — that’s expected in the next few weeks — the belief among insiders is that Chicago will not receive those comp picks for Cunningham as the Falcons have designated Matt Ryan their primary football executive. But Ryan himself said that Cunningham will be controlling the roster and making those decisions, an indication that the Bears deserve those picks.
During his Tuesday press conference at the NFL Scouting Combine, Bears GM Ryan Poles said that he’s had conversations with the NFL about the team not receiving draft pick compensation for Cunningham being hired by Atlanta.
“There’s a set of rules that has been put in place that I think can be applied to this situation,” Poles said. “So we have communicated through the right channels. We’ll see what happens going forward.
“If that’s the rule they have in place, it’s very clear what should happen.”
Shortly before Poles took to the podium, his former right hand man, Cunningham, shared his thoughts on the situation, and he believes Chicago deserves those third-round compensatory picks.
“I’m really proud that Ian has an opportunity to be a general manager, something we talked about for a long time before we even were employed by the Bears,” Poles said. “… How we do that and why we do that has nothing to do with compensation whatsoever. I want to make that very clear. On the other side, there were a set of rules that were put in place that I think can be applied to this situation.”
Poles also shared his thoughts on the Rooney Rule, which incentivizes recruiting people of color for general manager and head coach jobs.
“To be honest it is a little strange,” Poles said. “You should want to develop your staff regardless of the color of their skin.”
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears have reached out to NFL about comp picks for Ian Cunningham
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
