The Chicago Bears have big decisions to make with their free agents, but everyone has been talking about the future of wide receiver DJ Moore and whether he could be traded.
Moore had a down season statistically and was part of the final Caleb Williams interception in the Bears' playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams, which led many to be upset about the miscommunication between Moore and Williams. While appearing on SportsCenter, ESPN Bears reporter Courtney Cronin shared his update on what is going on with Moore and the trade rumors.
"He's a big topic of conversation this offseason for a number of reasons. We all remember what happened on the final play during the NFC Divisional playoffs, the throw that was to DJ Moore that became an interception. Now, I want to point out a couple of things because DJ Moore's 2026 base salary is already guaranteed. It's north of $24 million. That's a lot for a for an incurring team if there was a package the Bears wanted to work with here to trade him. That's for the incurring team to take on. However, the facts are that Ryan Poles, the general manager, credited DJ Moore for his toughness and how that rubbed off on the rest of locker room, what that meant to the team, Ben Johnson, said he was a big part of the reason this team was a couple of games away from playing in a Super Bowl, but they have some questions they have to ask themselves because the receiver room is loaded. It's DJ Moore, it's Rome Odunze, Luther Burden if they want to make that room less top -heavy then maybe the topic of some conversations with potentially moving him this offseason."
Could DJ Moore be on the move in 2026 offseason?
Moore is coming off the worst season of his career with 50 receptions for 682 yards and six touchdowns. Just to put into perspective how much of a dip in production he has had, Moore had 96 receptions for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns in 2023, which was his first season in Chicago.
The contract portion for Moore is significant, as he is expected to receive $23.5 million in 2026, which Cronin stated is already guaranteed for this year. That might leave some teams to be hesitiant to take on a big contract like that for a guy who just had under 700 yards in 17 games.
Chicago has loved having Moore on the team, as he was a great leader after suffering multiple injuries last season and staying on the field, missing no games. That's impressive and shows the kind of character he is.
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It's a tough decision for the Bears to make, but with the wide receiver room so deep and the team moving to a younger pathway, Moore might find himself on the outside or could end up being the veteran leader again for Chicago in 2026. His future seems very unclear at this point.