DJ Moore
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LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS - JUNE 03: DJ Moore #2 of the Chicago Bears speaks to the media after Chicago Bears OTA Offseason Workout at Halas Hall on June 03, 2025 in Lake Forest, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
NFL insider Jordan Schultz revealed on February 26th that the Chicago Bears have received calls regarding a possible trade for wide receiver DJ Moore.
“Two other names the #Bears have received calls on are QB Tyson Bagent and WR DJ Moore, per sources. Moore has over $23 million in guaranteed money in 2026 and is viewed as available for the right price by teams in the WR market.”
Unlike other potential trade pieces like Bagent and Gervon Dexter Sr., the Bears are relatively strong at the wide receiver position. Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III are on the path to becoming alpha wideouts in Chicago, and the Bears really liked what they saw from undrafted wideout Jahdae Walker last season.
Regardless, all three WRs missed time last season, and Moore was the only wideout to appear in all 17 regular-season games and both playoff matchups.
It’s an extremely complicated situation when thinking about the possibility of trading Moore away, but Bears insider Brad Biggs painted a picture of why the Bears would trade him away and if they would.
Bears Receive Blunt Message on A Possible DJ Moore Trade
A day after Schultz revealed the Bears have received calls for Moore, Biggs went into detail regarding a possible trade.
“The Bears can love the player and what he brings to the field and the locker room and also embrace the idea of being able to trade him to create cap space. Both can be true. Moore is well-regarded around the league for the reasons the Bears like him. He’s durable. He’s a solid locker-room presence. He’s tough on the field. Moore is owed $24.5 million this season, and on the third day of the league year, $15.5 million of his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed. That led some personnel men to conclude it will be challenging to trade him — if the Bears go in that direction. One source was relatively confident the Bears could find a taker for Moore and might be able to get a Day 2 pick in return. Perhaps some creativity would be required to swing a deal in which the Bears paid some of the money. They would trade Moore only to try to improve in 2026. In my opinion, that doesn’t mean flipping him for a draft pick. That means trading him to create cap space with a clear plan for how to use the added space. The pick helps, but it would be about subtracting Moore to add a player the Bears believe can be of greater immediate help.”
Trading Moore would be more of a financial move than it would be for gaining draft capital. But if so, would a move like this make sense?
Trading Moore Could Prove to Be Risky
Everything that Biggs mentioned makes sense. The problem for the Bears is this: Would trading Moore away for additional cap space hurt the Bears more than help them?
Another problem is that if the Bears likely won’t get a lot in return for Moore due to his contract, does that still justify only receiving a Day 2 pick?
Personally, trading Moore away should be one of the last moves the team makes if they need to create cap space. The Bears, as of March 1st, have negative $6.5 million in available cap according to OvertheCap.com.
All signs point to linebacker Tremaine Edmunds not being on the team in 2026, which will free up $15 million, and the NFL announced on February 27th that this season’s cap hit bumped up $22 million per team.
The best bet would be for the Bears to restructure Moore’s contract. The Bears can free up to $16.8 million if they were to restructure his contract. Regardless, it’ll be interesting to see what the Bears decide to do with Moore this offseason.