DJ Moore isn’t ready to call himself a running back — he’s been in one meeting, a solo session with position coach Eric Bieniemy — but he doesn’t mind lining up in the backfield, either. That’s a role the [Bears](https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears) have been tinkering with in practice, all in the name of finding creative ways to get their wide receiver the ball.
That means learning pass concepts for both wideout and running back.
“It’s daunting,” he said Monday, “but I get paid the big bucks to do it, so why not?”
[Moore](https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears/2025/08/08/agent-of-change-new-bears-coach-ben-johnson-sends-jolt-of-energy-through-halas-hall) signed a four-year, $110 million extension last year — and then averaged 24 fewer receiving yards per game with Caleb Williams that he did the year before with Justin Fields.
Head coach Ben Johnson and offensive coordinator Declan Doyle have been working on ways to get him out in space.
“DJ is one of those guys that you really love when the ball is in his hands,” Doyle said. “Just trying to find ways to be creative about how we do that. Trying to get him touches in every way we can. … He’s very natural back there. He has good vision. It’s one of those things that we’ll test it and mess with it a little bit and we’ll see where it goes.”
Moore won’t switch positions. But he said he’d be up for taking handoffs if needed.
“Just be an athlete at this point,” he said. “Just do it all and just attack it.”
### Notes
• Thirty-four Bears players — mostly those who played a few snaps Sunday, or none at all — practiced for about 70 minutes Monday afternoon. The rest received treatment.
Doyle said Sean Payton, for whom he worked in Denver and New Orleans, liked to practice preseason games. Payton got the idea from his mentor Bill Parcells.
• The Bears signed running back Brittain Brown and cut the injured cornerback Ameer Speed. Brown was drafted in Round 7 by the Raiders in 2022 and spent last year on the Seahawks’ practice squad.
• The Dolphins put running back Alexander Mattison on the IR after he hurt his neck Sunday. He had surgery in Chicago.
• With cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Terell Smith hurt, the Bears worked out eight defensive backs: Kalon Barnes, Millard Bradford, Mekhi Gardner, Kaleb Hayes, Keni-H Lovely, Mark Perry, Benny Sapp and Jason Taylor.