How the DJ Moore Trade Could Be a Precursor to Acquiring Maxx Crosby

The Bears really did it. They traded DJ Moore to the Bills (along with a fifth-round pick) to acquire the 60th overall pick in this year's draft.

Honestly, I was previously concerned about the compensation they'd receive for Moore. He's coming of a down season and will be making $24.5 million over the next four years. I was worried it would be a fourth or fifth rounder, and that's not worth it for a player of his caliber.

With that said, I'm not mad at them moving up three rounds in this year's class. In fact, there's actually reason to believe they acquired a pick in the sweet spot of the draft.

I see the sweet spot in this draft between 50-75. There are going to be a bunch of solid starters in that range. The edge rusher, CB or WR you get at 75 will be graded almost identically to the one you’d get at 45.
— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) March 5, 2026

More importantly, Buffalo also acquired the remainder of Moore's contract. The move brings $16.5 million in cap relief to Chicago. With that coming one day after center Drew Dalman's sudden retirement, they've now cleared up roughly $26.5 million in cap space over the past 24 hours.

What could they do with the extra savings?

Well trading for Maxx Crosby certainly isn't a bad idea.

Sources: Teams in the trade market have gotten the sense that the #Raiders are more open to the idea of trading Maxx Crosby, and it’s a situation that is only going to intensify. pic.twitter.com/9dI0HeHdkv
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 5, 2026

Could it be a coincidence that that tweet was fired off a half hour after the trade got announced? Sure. That becomes less likely when you consider that it hit the airwaves eight minutes after this one, though...

I do not get the sense the #Bears are done on the trade market…. https://t.co/FcTDonWcFk
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 5, 2026

The Bears have long been rumored to be heavily involved in the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes, and they suddenly have a ton of cap space to get it done. They currently sit right around $20 million under the cap and haven't even begun the process of restructuring anyone.

They're also all but guaranteed to part ways with Tremaine Edmunds in the coming days, as they granted him permission to seek a trade last week. That would open up another $15 million.

It was previously uncertain whether they'd be able to absorb Crosby's contract, and I thought they'd have to ship off Moore to get it done anyway. Now that they have, they should have no issues taking on his $36 million cap hit for the 2026 NFL season. In fact, that might've actually been on their mind throughout this process.

Meanwhile, the Bears have cleared a bunch of cap room this week, with Drew Dalman retiring and DJ Moore traded. We'd mentioned earlier that they've shown some interest in Tyler Linderbaum and Maxx Crosby. Stay tuned.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 5, 2026

It seems like they're revving up to go big-game hunting over next week. Shipping Moore out of town hurts from an emotional perspective, but it was somewhat of a necessary evil if they wanted to make some noise.

Honestly, I'm still not sure whether they're willing to give up the desired compensation to pull off a trade for Crosby. The Raiders were previously looking for two first-round picks, and I still hope the Bears don't bite if that's the offer.

However, I would welcome a scenario where they give up the 25th pick and a second-round pick next year (or one of their second-round picks this year) to land him. That becomes a lot more palatable when you factor in the extra pick they'll be getting from Buffalo.

It sure seems like we'll have the answer there soon enough. Somebody is going to cash in their Maxx Crosby Powerball ticket in the next few days.