Bears $110 Million Star Projected as Potential Trade Candidate in 2025

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Bears general manager Ryan Poles.

Change is coming to the Chicago Bears during the 2025 offseason with a head coaching vacancy and several roster holes to fill, but one analyst thinks they could potentially take it to the extreme and trade one of their brightest stars.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently ranked nine head coaching openings around the NFL heading into the 2025 offseason, putting the Bears’ job at No. 3 on the list behind two positions — in Miami and Jacksonville — he projects will open in the coming weeks. He also backed up the notion that they will hire a coach with “a background on offense.”

Interestingly, though, Fowler criticized the lack of star power of the Bears’ 2024 roster and went so far as to float the possibility of the Bears trading one of their highest-paid veterans: top wide receiver D.J. Moore, who signed a $110 million extension in August.

“Regardless of who takes over, the new coach will have to reimagine the offense and add players accordingly,” Fowler wrote Thursday. “[Keenan] Allen, a free agent, is unlikely to return. Moore has looked uninterested all season and has a tradeable contract.”

Fowler’s tidbit about Moore might simply be conjecture, but it is no secret that Moore’s 2024 season has been a disappointment for both him and the team. Moore has just six fewer targets and seven fewer catches than he did during his career-best outing in 2023 with one more game to play, but he is also sitting at a career-low 9.9 yards per catch — a product of an inconsistent Bears offense using him on short-yardage plays and screens.

Moore’s body language has also come under scrutiny throughout the frustrating season, leading some — including Fowler — to question whether he wants to stay in Chicago.

Bears Trading DJ Moore Would Be Difficult to Justify

Let’s look at what technically works about the possibility of trading Moore. Despite the Bears signing Moore to a lucrative extension that ties him to the team through the 2029 season, Fowler is correct in saying Moore’s contract is “tradeable.” According to Over The Cap, the Bears could trade Moore after June 1 in the offseason and would only have $4 million in dead cap to worry about for the upcoming season, saving $20.9 million.

The Bears would also stand to gain significant draft capital as compensation for Moore. While he is signed to a lengthy and expensive contract, an acquiring team would likely not see that as a roadblock if they are prepared to pay big money for a No. 1 receiver. The 2022 trade between Philadelphia and Tennessee for A.J. Brown could serve as a realistic framework. The Titans landed first- and third-round selections in that deal.

For fans who have grown disillusioned with Moore, trading away the 27-year-old for additional picks in the first and third rounds might sound appealing, but the front office would have a difficult time justifying such a trade — even if Ryan Poles is out in 2025.

The Bears would have virtually no remaining wide receiver talent if they dealt Moore. They have a promising starter in No. 9 pick Rome Odunze, who has 52 receptions for 716 yards and three touchdowns with one game left to play as a rookie, but Tyler Scott — who has played 20 offensive snaps in 2024 — is the only other wideout under contract with Allen, DeAndre Carter, Collin Johnson and Samori Toure all pending free agents.

Moore is also reasonably affordable at $27.5 million annually, which ranks ninth among the NFL’s highest-paid wide receivers. A team trying to fix its offense doesn’t trade that.

Bears Should Add More WR Talent to Roster for 2025

Barring a turn for the dramatic — such as Moore requesting a trade out of Chicago — it seems unlikely the Bears will trade him under any circumstances during the offseason. That said, the team has all the reason in the world to add more wide receiver talent.

The Bears will first need to decide what to do with their pending free agents. The 32-year-old Allen has been somewhat inconsistent after arriving in an offseason trade, but the Bears could use stability for quarterback Caleb Williams and might work to bring back Allen for another go in 2025 if he is willing to re-sign for a reasonable price. They could also potentially look to extend Carter for depth and his return-man abilities.

If the Bears re-sign neither veteran, though, they should explore both free agency and the NFL draft for more options. They would not need to spend top dollar on a free agent with Moore and Odunze locked up for the next three seasons, but veterans inclined to sign shorter deals such as Marquire Brown, Darius Slayton or Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (who would add a returner to the mix) could make sense for the right price tag.

The Bears are also projected to have four of the first 71 picks in the 2025 NFL draft and could sink at least one of them into a formidable young receiving talent if the board falls in their favor. While a Day 1 investment seems unlikely, the Bears should have plenty of options from which to choose for their new-look offense and newly-hired head coach on the second day of the draft — from guys like Elic Ayomanor to Xavier Restrepo.