The Chicago Bears have been measured in their approach to free agency so far. That doesn’t sit well with a lot of fans, but it’s not hard to understand. GM Ryan Poles feels trying to make splashes on the veteran market is an easy way to get yourself into trouble. That is why he focuses his attention mostly on finding good bargains that help the team’s depth and special teams. Still, it feels like only a matter of time before the Bears take a calculated swing on somebody. No position seems more likely for that than wide receiver. The only question is who it might be. That is where DJ Moore comes in.
Rumors surfaced the Bears might be interested in veteran Curtis Samuel. That name is interesting for a few reasons. For one, he’s a good player. He has at least 600 yards in four of the past five seasons despite being stuck with some awful quarterbacks during that span. Another is the fact he shares a deep relationship with Moore. The two were teammates in Carolina from 2018 through 2020. During that time, they grew close on and off the field. It remained that way even after Samuel left for Washington in 2021.
“Those guys are like Batman and Robin,” quarterback Cam Newton said. “I don’t know who is Batman and who is Robin, tweedle-dee or tweedle-doo. But man, it’s good for me as quarterback to see those guys meshing extremely well.”
“Listen, from Instagram, to Twitter to on-field celebrations, I’ve always been kind of envious of their relationship.”
One can safely assume Moore is pushing his friend and former teammate to reunite in Chicago.
If he pulls this off, DJ Moore can do the Bears a big favor.
Samuel holds the final say. Reuniting with Moore is probably something he’d love. However, there are other factors in play. It is his responsibility to get the best possible contract he can since this might be his last chance for a decent payday. There is also the fact he has never played on a winning team in his career. He may not wish to risk joining the Bears, who have one winning season since 2013, and instead opt to sign with an organization with better odds of getting him to the playoffs.
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Experts project it will cost around $8.5 million per year for a team to sign Samuel. That is plenty affordable for the Bears, who have the fourth-most cap space in the league. He would be a terrific complement to DJ Moore, as he was in Carolina. It also wouldn’t force Poles to focus on drafting a receiver at #9 overall, allowing him to take the best player available. Remember this connection as the receiver market gains momentum after Calvin Ridley finally signed. If the Bears land Samuel, they will be in good shape.
Moore will certainly be happy.
Samuel at $8.5M is in Poles’ price range from what we’ve seen so far. It’s a plus that he’s WR1’s pal. Is he better than MHJ? Is he cheaper?
A WR free agent signing would say a lot about what Poles is planning to do with #1.
@TGena If the Bears were in ATL’s shitty division (and not going against playoff teams GB and Detroit), I’d take those odds!
@jmscooby After 1st rounders, Bears draft at 75, 110 & 122. Maybe Poles can draft WR Rice, Wilson or Baker in 3rd round. Not exactly an exciting cast of choices. The receivers who did well at Combine and Pro days will go earlier leaving the Bears’ new QB with scraps to throw to since DJ will be doubled without another reliable receiving threat.
It’s gotten so bad, we’re hoping to land a WR that gets cut!!!
Whose team — Darnell Mooney (and Ryan Pace’s) Atlanta Falcons, or DJ Moore (and Ryan Poles’) Chicago Bears, do y’all expect to make the NFL playoffs, first?
@jmscooby Yeah, deep WR group of draft prospects. So what? Maybe we can get a real WR at 1.9. Otherwise, not likely. There’s top tier plug and play guys and then there’s hit and misses. We’ve been down this road before waiting to select a WR in the draft and what did it get us??? Velus in 3rd round and Scott at 133! Misfires. They’ve shown very little promise to even be WR3 or 4s.
This RB carousel has completely blown my mind. I feel like Khalil needs to go to the Vikings, Rojo to GB, and we should be getting Monty back. I’ve never seen anything like the vast change.