The Chicago Bears have assembled probably the most talented receiving corps they have ever had in over a century of existence, at least from a depth perspective. DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and Cole Kmet were already an impressive trio. To that, the team has added Colston Loveland and Luther Burden with their first two picks from the 2025 draft. That is five guys who have Pro Bowl-caliber ability. Whether the Bears get that much out of them remains to be seen. Or put another way, it will be interesting to see if the team keeps all of them.
There was rampant speculation last month that Kmet might end up on the trade block because of Loveland’s arrival. It turns out he might not be the one to watch. There has been an undercurrent of buzz about Moore’s status inside Halas Hall. Former college and NFL scout Matt Williamson sure seems to think he is available.
Why would he think this? Sure, the arrival of Burden might have something to do with it. Multiple experts have compared him to Moore based on skill set alone. However, one source told SM that many in the building were concerned about his attitude after last season.
DJ Moore raised concerns for two reasons.
One was his body language, which sometimes indicated nonchalance and a lack of full effort. Sure, the Bears weren’t a good team and had to endure a tough losing streak. However, that didn’t stop others from still giving their all. The other part was his relationship with quarterback Caleb Williams. It felt like the two had a disconnect at times. Some wondered if Moore was resentful of the rookie because the receiver never wanted to move on from Justin Fields. While he still led the team in targets, which were actually up from 2023, his productivity took a sharp dive.
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The Bears have now put themselves in a better leverage position with DJ Moore. They added Burden in the draft and veteran Olamide Zaccheaus in free agency. He is still only 28 years old and under contract through 2028. Any team trading for him would know they’re getting a good player in his prime who won’t be able to bolt after this season. Are the Bears shopping him? That is unlikely. New head coach Ben Johnson probably wants to see how the receiver responds to a new, less toxic situation.
If things don’t mesh early in the season, the Bears can ship him out at the trade deadline.
