D.J. Moore's Bills 'Growing Pains' Put More Heat on Bears' Young WR Bet

D.J. Moore admits to early 'growing pains' with the Bills, while Rome Odunze and Luther Burden flash at OTAs as the Bears' WR gamble starts to unfold.

Former Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears made the bold move to cut ties with wideout DJ Moore earlier this offseason, trading him to the Buffalo Bills.

The deal saw the Bears net a 2026 second-rounder in exchange for Moore and a 2026 fifth-rounder. The Bears were widely lauded for that haul, with many analysts believing the Bills gave up way too much for the veteran wide receiver.

It did make sense to trade Moore, as the Bears needed to open up some cap space and had two young wide receivers they felt were ready to step up and take on bigger roles. Not to mention, Moore wasn't exactly living up to his big contract since Caleb Williams took over.

There is some risk involved with that move, however, as the jury is still out on both Rome Odunze and Luther Burden and Moore is no longer here to serve as an insurance policy if those two don't pan out. Only time will tell if Chicago's move was the right one.

DJ Moore's early struggles with Bills

Former Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Things aren't going as smoothly as Moore would like early on in Buffalo, as the veteran wideout admitted he's experiencing "growing pains" so far this offseason.

“It's going good,” he told Katherine Fitzgerald of the Buffalo News. “I mean, it's gonna be perfect later on, but right now it's still growing pains.”

Issues for a player on a new team aren't a big deal this early in the process, but it is a bit surprising in this specific case considering Moore has experience playing in Bills head coach Joe Brady's offense from their days together in Carolina.

Even still, quarterback Josh Allen has been happy with what he has seen from Moore thus far.

“So, it's been pretty fun to watch, but he's super-smooth," Allen said. "He's faster than you think, and he just kind of glides on people. So, just trying to learn as much as I can and making sure we get on the same page because he’s very fun to throw to.”

The Bills entered the offseason in desperate need of more help at wide receiver and Moore has been their biggest addition. He should assume the WR1 role in Buffalo in 2026.

Bears' promising but uncertain situation at WR

Chicago Bears wide receiver Rome Odunze. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

As we already pointed out, both Burden and Moore will need to step up this season, but how much they're able to remains to be seen because we just don't have a huge sample size from either one yet.

Sure, both have flashed a ton of promise, but Odunze missed a big chunk of last season due to injury and Burden has just one year under his belt.

Then, there's the rest of the depth chart that includes uninspiring vets like Kalif Raymond and Scotty Miller, neither of whom has produced much the past few years, and Zavion Thomas and Jahdae Walker, who need to prove themselves.

The good news is, head coach Ben Johnson is very high on Burden, and Odunze and Thomas have shined at OTAs, so they're off to a strong start.

The Bears can only hope that will be a sign of things to come this season, which in turn would completely justify the Moore trade.