DJ Moore was a central hero to the Chicago Bears‘ story in 2025. Without his big-play moments against the Green Bay Packers, this team doesn’t win the division or their first playoff game since 2010. That made the decision to trade him a conflicting one for fans. They didn’t want to lose what he brought to the team. Unfortunately, the business of the NFL doesn’t care about such things. Most agree the decision to trade Moore this past March was motivated solely by financial reasons. The Bears were in a salary cap crunch and needed breathing room. Sending Moore to Buffalo was their best option.
However, it wasn’t quite that cut-and-dry. There was a slightly more selfish reason the Bears did it. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune confirmed as much in his recent column. While cap relief was the primary reason Moore was traded, the Bears also wanted to elevate Luther Burden into a more central offensive role.
“The trade of DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills — in which Poles made out pretty well — was motivated by clearing salary-cap space.
It also was made because the team believes Luther Burden III, entering his second season, is primed for a larger role. Burden caught 47 passes for 652 yards and two scores as a rookie and projects to be the most explosive weapon in the passing game.
But Williams and Burden weren’t always on the same page, and the fourth-down interception in the wild-card win over the Packers is just one example of what happened when those two were not in sync.”
This isn’t entirely a surprise. Burden exploded onto the scene last year, demonstrating his mouth-watering mix of speed, quickness, and after-the-catch ability. The problem is that there are only so many targets to go around. By removing Moore and the 85 he got last season, the Bears can divvy them up to others, particularly Burden. If he could post over 600 yards with just 60 targets, imagine what he could do with 90+.
DJ Moore likely always faced this fate.
The hard truth is the Bears were paying him as a #1 wide receiver. With that comes expectations. That means 1,000 yards and 7-10 touchdowns every season. Moore wasn’t providing that. True, not all of it was his fault, but let’s not forget Justin Jefferson had 1,000 yards in just 10 games in 2023 despite four different quarterbacks throwing him the ball. Moore was still productive, but his impact had faded to the point where he was overpaid. Once the Bears drafted Burden in the 2nd round last April, the clock began ticking.
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After the rookie started putting together some impressive performances, the calls for him to get more action started coming in. Moore was partially saved from any semblance of criticism because Rome Odunze injured his foot and wasn’t 100% most of the season. That kept his role in the offense secure. It’s fair to wonder what might’ve happened if Odunze had stayed healthy. Would Burden’s ascent have caused Moore’s role in the offense to steadily diminish? We’ll never know, but this revelation at least alludes to that possibility.
It’s unlikely there are any hard feelings.
After all, the Bears did DJ Moore a big favor. Not only did they find a trade partner that allowed him to maintain his current contract, but they also sent him to one of the best teams in the AFC. He’ll get to play with Josh Allen, a recent league MVP and top-three quarterback in the sport. This isn’t a situation where they exciled him to a team with loads of problems. Moore will be just fine. It is a win-win for everybody. He gets to join a contender while they save some money and are free to elevate one of their younger talents.
There is no great benefactor than Burden. The Bears have shown their utmost belief in him by clearing the way. It falls on his shoulders to seize the opportunity. All signs indicate he has been working hard this offseason. He is in shape and running crisp routes in practice. The next step is improving his chemistry with Caleb Williams. That should come with more reps together in spring practices and training camp.
