DJ Moore’s Contract Could Make It Difficult For Bears To Trade Him

Rome Odunze has emerged as Caleb Williams’ top target, dropping DJ Moore into sidekick status. Keep an eye on those two Bears receivers in Monday night’s game at Washington.

Chicago is coming out of a bye, just as it was when it faced the Commanders in Week 8 last season. While that game is remembered for Tyrique Stevenson’s mental meltdown on Washington’s game-winning Hail Mary pass, it was also notable for how Williams and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron largely ignored Moore.

Williams threw only four passes in Moore’s direction — a part of a trend that would lead to Waldron being relieved of his duties two losses later. But maybe Waldron was actually ahead of the curve when he made Odunze, then a rookie, the main man.

That transition is being cemented in Ben Johnson’s first season as head coach. Not only has Odunze been targeted 3.5 times more per game than Moore but even newcomer Olamide Zaccheaus has been given more more targets than Moore (22-21).

While Johnson has often talked about finding ways to put the ball in Moore’s hands, even using him out of the backfield at times, the reality is his days as Chicago’s No. 1 receiver are in the past. Odunze and second-round draft pick Luther Burden III — possibly along with mobile tight end Colston Loveland — are the future.

Zaccheaus, signed to a one-year, $1.5 million contract, demonstrates the ease of finding complementary receivers in a similarly creative offense to the one Johnson ran in Detroit.

Moore has largely been put in the Amon-Ra St. Brown role. His average depth of target dropped from 10.9 yards in 2023 to 7.6 playing alongside Odunze, who averaged 17.8 yards per catch in his senior season as a game-breaker at the University of Washington.

Unfortunately for Moore, he isn’t getting the volume of targets that has been the key to St. Brown’s emergence as a reliable weapon. His body language was an issue at times in the Matt Eberflus-Waldron offense but he’s seemed on the same page with Johnson this season. It’s the downward trend of his impact that has been troubling.

Where does that leave Moore, who was an indispensable target for Justin Fields after General Manager Ryan Poles acquired him along with two first-round picks for the first overall pick in the 2023 draft?

This is a major issue based on the team’s finances. Poles gave Moore a four-year, $110 million extension after the ’23 season, when Tyler Scott became the second option among wide receivers.

His contract comes with a $24.9 salary cap hit this season, second on the team behind Montez Sweat (another low-tide acquisition by Poles who was immediately rewarded upon arrival). It runs through 2029, although he can be released with no dead-cap money after ’28.

That’s a long time away, especially given that Odunze is due a huge raise (and probably a long-term extension) after next season. The Bears currently rank fifth in the NFL in wide receiver spending, and could easily move to the top of the list if they are still playing Odunze and Moore together in 2027.

The obvious move for the Bears is to trade Moore, and there are no shortage of rumors on blogs and websites. The most popular thread has Poles finding a way to move him to a receiver-needy team likes the Giants and Jets for help on the defensive line (Kayvon Thibodeaux and Quininen Williams).

The trouble with such speculation is that the 25-year-old Thibodeaux and the 28-year-old Williams are defensive anchors still in their prime, while the 28-year-old Moore isn’t the same level of asset he was when Poles acquired him. His contract is a deal-breaker unless the Bears are willing to attach major draft-pick capital to Moore or find a way to pay down his salary.

The trade deadline is three weeks away, and at 2-2 the Bears are still positioned to become contenders for a playoff spot. The upcoming games against Washington, New Orleans and Baltimore will be telling in the short term but the team’s focus remains more around the future than the present.

There’s little Poles and Johnson would love more this season than Williams to become the franchise’s first 4,000-yard receiver. He’s currently on pace for 3,940, with an average of 231.8 passing yards per game.

Moore (16 catches for 173 yards and one touchdown) is contributing to that goal and offers security as insurance behind Odunze (20 catches, 296 yards and five touchdowns).

The right trade could make sense but the timing is tricky. Poles would probably be better off shopping Moore ahead of the 2026 draft but needs Williams to start looking for him more often to increase his value. Maybe that starts Monday.