Bills see elite D.J. Moore, but Bears' trade decision holds steady. Was it a calculated gamble that paid off for Chicago?
The Chicago Bears decided to move on from receiver D.J. Moore this offseason, and the Buffalo Bills may be learning why sooner rather than later.
Moore was sent to the Bills for a 2026 second-round pick, as the Bears freed up $16.5 million in cap space with the move.
Moore was a reliable receiver at times in 2025, but he was definitely not the same player he once was. The Bills are convinced that Moore is still the elite receiver he was during his time with the Carolina Panthers at the beginning of his career and in his first season with the Bears in 2023.
New Bills head coach Joe Brady believed that Moore hasn't had any drop off after watching the tape, per NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
"You try not to go into it and be like, 'Hey, I remember what the player was and let's just do it.' It's natural in football," Brady said. "Five years is a long time. But the player that I turned on the tape wasn't any different in terms of the way that he moved, the skill set, the opportunity, the big plays, using him in a bunch of different ways. I saw that, and I didn't see a guy that has had any drop-off. I saw a guy that there's a clear vision for how we're going to utilize him and get the ball in his hands. I know him and Josh, there's been a lot of work this offseason getting them on the same page, but I'm really excited about where that's gonna go."
If you look at the numbers, it's clear that Moore's production has fallen off.
He came into the league in 2018 with the Panthers and had 788 receiving yards as a rookie. Moore then had three consecutive 1000-yard seasons. In 2022, his streak of 1,000-yard seasons ended and he had 888 receiving yards.
Moore was then sent to Chicago in that infamous trade with Carolina in the 2023 NFL Draft. He had an impressive feat in 2023, finishing with 1,364 receiving yards with Justin Fields as his quarterback.
Since then, he has failed to get back to that level.
At the end of the day, the Bears shouldn't have any regrets about this trade. The move was great for the team's cap space and definitely helped them free up enough to go after free agents like Coby Bryant and Devin Bush.
Plus, this allows for promising wideout Luther Burden to come into his own and potentially fit into the same role Moore had. Burden would be a great replacement for the YAC receiver on the Bears' offense.
Chicago got younger and has a lot of its top offensive players still on rookie deals. Caleb Williams, Kyle Monangai, Rome Odunze, Burden, Colston Loveland, and others are still on their first contracts with the franchise.
Even in the off chance that Moore has a revival with the Bills and outperforms expectations, the Bears should have no remorse about getting his contract off the books and helping the receiving corps get younger.
The Bears could afford to get rid of Moore because of the young group of players they have at wideout. The financial gain is a big plus as well.