While Caleb Williams was obviously the main prize of the trade with the Carolina Panthers, getting DJ Moore was more than just a sweetener. He had shown the potential to be a legitimate WR1, and he was expected to be the primary focus of the passing game.
That clearly hasn't been the case so far, and the latest loss to the Green Bay Packers may have been rock bottom for the speedy wideout. He had just one catch for minus-4 yards in a game the Bears were missing Rome Odunze, and it seemed like Caleb Williams didn't look his way at times.
Caleb Williams and DJ Moore Are Clearly Lacking Chemistry
A lot has been said of Williams' accuracy issues and how he doesn't always go through his progressions, and rightfully so. That should improve over time, since this is essentially his first year playing in an actually functioning NFL offense.
This isn't a Caleb Williams issue, at least not entirely. He's not on the same page with Moore, and while that happens in this line of business, it can't happen when you're paying the wideout in question north of $20 million per season.
There's nothing wrong with Rome Odunze taking his place as the de facto WR1. If anything, that's encouraging. But after watching how Williams thrives when targeting Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland, both of whom have been with the team for less time than Moore, it's clear that there's a problem there.
Moore is signed through the 2029 season. He's still owed nearly $100 million, and moving on from him should be a priority for this team in the offseason. Even if he hasn't lived up to the expectations and his steep salary, he's just 28 years old and has shown enough in the past to make other teams feel like he can still be saved.
The former Panthers star leads all Bears pass catchers in snaps played at 752. He's also second in targets (66), receptions (39), and receiving yards (498) while being third in receiving touchdowns (3). Still, despite barely being featured in the passing game in the first half of the season, both Loveland and Burden III have significantly closed the gap with him in terms of production in just a couple of weeks.
Moore is trending in the right direction at the most crucial point of the season, and that's not an encouraging sign for what's to come. He was expected to break out with Ben Johnson and be a dual-threat like Deebo Samuel. Instead, he's putting up virtually the same numbers as a rookie while making nearly twenty times more money.