The Chicago Bears seem unlikely to re-sign Darnell Mooney this offseason. Still, there is a question about what type of contract he would be signing in free agency. Mooney is coming off of a down year; how much will that impact what he is expected to make this offseason?
Projecting a contract for Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney in free agency
Before the season, we projected Mooney to get a three-year, $39.5M deal with $25M in guarantees. He is coming off of the worst year of his career; will that impact his market value?
When you look at the whole picture, his 2023 season will not help, but it also should not completely wipe away his market. Some names who have signed similar deals in recent years are Michael Gallup, Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Curtis Samuel, and Russell Gage.
When you extend the sample to look at the last four years of Mooney's career, even with a down year, he looks to be right in line, if not in a better spot than these players.
Name | Darnell Mooney | Marquez Valdes-Scantling | Allen Lazard | Curtis Samuel | Russell Gage | Michael Gallup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
REC | 213 | 122 | 156 | 209 | 189 | 167 |
YARDS | 2593 | 2122 | 2063 | 2147 | 1982 | 2130 |
TDs | 11 | 12 | 18 | 11 | 13 | 13 |
Years | ? | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
AAV | ? | $10M | $11M | $11.5M | $8.5M | $11.5M |
GTD | ? | $15M | $22M | $23M | $7M | $23M |
He leads this group in catches and yards despite the poor play and the injury the year prior. When you consider an open market could create a bidding war, Mooney should make the most out of his situation. You can knock him down a bit, but this still appears to be the tier of money he will be making.
An average of these salaries would be three years, for $31.5M and $18M in guarantees. It is not quite the $39.5M, and $25M guarantees that we thought he might get last year, but it is not a major knockdown because he is still young with potential. That would be too high for what the Chicago Bears want to offer him, but you have to think there will be a team in free agency offering that type of contract to Darnell Mooney.