This Is One Move the Bears Should Think Twice About This Offseason

It may not be a popular opinion, but the Bears should stand pat on this one.

Oct 26, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; A Chicago Bears player's helmet on the bench against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

DJ Moore's name has been dragged through the mud over the past five days. Actually, it would be more appropriate to say that his name has been dragged through the mud over the past three months.

Many have been frustrated with Moore's lack of production in Ben Johnson's offense, and some even wanted the team to move on from him ahead of the trade deadline. That opinion died down a bit after he came up with the clutch game-winning touchdown over Green Bay in Week 16, but it has come back in full force after he and Caleb Williams weren't on the same page on the final offensive play of Chicago's miraculous season.

There are a number of reasons I don't think the Bears should move on from Moore though.

For starters, I've always believed that NFL teams should never sell players when their value is at its lowest. That was my biggest grievance with trading away Khalil Mack when we did (although I understood it was somewhat of a necessary evil at that time). He was coming off a seven-game season, and the Bears only got a second- and fifth-round pick for him. Not great compensation for a future Hall of Fame pass-rusher.

The key difference between that roster and the current one is that Ryan Poles understood the Bears needed to undergo a rebuild, and Mack's MASSIVE contract made that task difficult. Getting his contract off the books gave them immediate wiggle room. Meanwhile, the Bears' current roster looks ready to compete for a Super Bowl, and Moore is in a much better position to help them do so than whatever they would get in return for him.

If they were to find another team willing to take on Moore's remaining contract, they would save roughly $16.5 million this season. However, with him coming off the worst season of his career, that would basically be a salary cap dump. You can forget any quality compensation in that case. They'd probably get a sixth-round pick in return for him.

The extra cap space would be nice (restructuring his contract would be a more plausible outcome in my opinion), but I don't think the special teams safety we draft with the selection would provide nearly as much of an impact as Moore would. Not even close.

Another reason I think it would be smart to keep Moore around is that he still has the best hands of any pass-catcher (besides maybe Colston Loveland) on the team. The Bears' receiver room was plagued by drops this season, but who comes to mind when you think of the main offenders? According to Pro Football Focus, Olamide Zaccheaus led the team with six, followed by Luther Burden III with five, and Rome Odunze was tagged with four. Meanwhile, Moore only dropped two passes all year.

Now, I know that "drops" are suggestive. In fact, I think there might've been six passes thrown Zaccheaus' way in the Giants game alone that I, personally, would consider to be drops. I also believe PFF might've been generous with Odunze's "drop" numbers. With that said, they gave a fair grade on Moore's performance. When the ball hit his hands, he usually came down with it.

The Bears had 6 drops yesterday, which by my count cost them around 80 air yards and probably close to 100 total yards with YAC.

If those passes were caught, Caleb Williams’ stat line would’ve looked more like:

Comp%: 55.6 → 72.2
Yards: 220 → 300+
Passing TDs: 1 → 2 pic.twitter.com/XYrhNtKotC

— Steve Letizia (@CFCBears) November 10, 2025

Some are quick to go out with the old and in with the new, but the Bears would have to address the receiver position if they move on from him. I know they have an embarrassment of riches at receiver, but that's a good problem to have. Everyone eats into each other's production, but that's only an issue when a player values statistics over team success.

The Bears seemingly have the right group of guys in that respect. They shouldn't go out of their way to change that dynamic.

I understand Moore might not be the flashiest of Chicago's receivers. He might not run the best routes or have the highest ceiling. He might not always be on the same page with Caleb Williams. That doesn't change the fact that he's still a damn good receiver, though.

Call me crazy, but I don't think the Bears should be in a hurry to trade him just because he was partially responsible for a play that contributed to a heartbreaking end to the season.

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