The Chicago Bears benefited from a lot of things breaking their way during the 2025 season, but one thing that didn’t go to plan was the performance of veteran wide receiver DJ Moore. The Bears’ top target coming into the season, Moore had a disappointing campaign, posting career lows with 50 catches and 682 yards while falling behind Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III in the team’s pecking order.
On Thursday, it appears Moore took another step toward exiting the Windy City. According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Bears have received calls on Moore, and he “is viewed as available for the right price by teams in the [wide receiver] market.”
If there was any chance Moore was staying in Chicago, it seems to be fading with each day, and it’s gotten to a point where a split between the two sides seems inevitable with the start of the new league year approaching on March 11.
Bears Odds of Trading DJ Moore Keep Growing with Latest Report
Moore has been solid overall with 244 catches, 3,012 yards, and 20 touchdowns in 51 games over three years in Chicago. Acquired as part of the trade that helped the Bears acquire the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft, which was used to select Caleb Williams, it's hard to view the deal with Carolina as anything but a win for the Monsters of the Midway. Moore enjoyed a career year with 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023, but his production has dropped in each of the past two seasons.
Some of the decline is surprising, considering the Bears brought in an offense-oriented head coach last winter in Ben Johnson. But Moore never got going in 2025 as Odunze became the team’s downfield threat with 44 catches for 661 yards and six touchdowns, and Burden got stronger as the year progressed with 47 catches for 652 yards and two touchdowns in his rookie season.
One could argue that keeping Moore would help the Bears repeat their offensive performance in 2026, but his contract could prevent that. According to Over The Cap, Moore has a $28.5 million cap hit for the next two seasons and a $24.5 million cap hit in the final year (2029) of the four-year, $110 million contract extension he signed before the start of the 2024 campaign.
Those numbers could make it difficult to get a trade done, and any team that makes a deal could have to make another long-term commitment to Moore, as the guaranteed money associated with his contract runs out after next season. If no trade comes to fruition, it won't be due to a lack of effort, as Bears GM Ryan Poles hinted that trading Moore could be the best thing for the long-term health of the organization when speaking to reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine this week.
“I have nothing but great things to say about [Moore,]” Poles said, via Heavy’s Jordan J. Wilson. “But this is the time where we have to look at all the different scenarios and see what can allow us to put the best team we can put out there.”
Clearing $16.5 million by trading Moore could be the best answer, and it could get them a solid pick if a team is willing to take on his contract. Teams like the Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and Tennessee Titans could be potential landing spots, and taking on some of the money in the contract to cajole whatever franchise takes on Moore to include a better draft pick as part of the compensation coming Chicago's way could be a better decision than keeping Moore around for another year.
It’s something Poles may have already considered as he looks to help the Bears ascend to another level, and it could spell the end of Moore’s tenure as a Bear.