Speculation about whether the Chicago Bears will keep veteran wide receiver DJ Moore for the 2026 season has surged following their season-ending loss, but the team’s leadership does not seem to be doubting his future — at least not yet.
In his end-of-season news conference, Bears head coach Ben Johnson spoke somberly about the “really difficult decisions” ahead for his team in the 2026 offseason, adding that his team is going “back to square one” after coming up short in the 2025 playoffs.
On the subject of Moore, though, Johnson made a pair of blunt comments.
When asked — again — about the final offensive play against the Los Angeles Rams, an interception that quarterback Caleb Williams attributed to “miscommunication” with Moore, Johnson took full ownership of the failure and deflected blame from his players.
“If there was any sort of miscommunication, that’s my problem,” he said on January 21. “That’s no one else’s but mine, so I’ve got to do a better job of coaching that up.”
Johnson also seemed to give Moore his endorsement when asked about his star wide receiver’s mindset coming out of the season; although, some will point to the fact that he spoke about Moore exclusively in the past tense as a reason to doubt his future.
“You would have to talk to him about his mindset,” Johnson said of Moore. “We had a really good exit interview, and he’s a player that I felt really helped us get to the point where we were this year. We had an opportunity there a couple games away from the Super Bowl, so I thought he was a huge contributor to getting us there.”
Bears GM Ryan Poles Stayed Vague About DJ Moore’s Fit
Bears general manager Ryan Poles had a little more to say about Moore on Wednesday, largely complimenting him for his toughness and selfless attitude throughout the 2025 season. But when asked directly about Moore’s fit moving forward, he kept it vague.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles also had an opportunity to quash the rumors about Moore’s future in Chicago on Wednesday when taking a question about the 28-year-old wide receiver’s “fit” with the team moving forward. And like Johnson, he also kept his answer complimentary of Moore without committing to anything about his future.
“He didn’t care about stats,” Poles said. “All he cared about [was] winning. This is the most winning DJ’s had probably since high school. That’s all he cares about.
“In terms of roster, like I said, we’ve got a lot of decisions to make in figuring that out. I think what stood out about DJ this year is [his] level of toughness rubbed off on our team. Guys, if they were dinged up, they almost had to go because DJ was going. He was able to fight through a lot. I have a lot of respect for him.”
Like Johnson’s comments, they are wholly complimentary of Moore. Even still, it is a bit strange that both the head coach and general manager are unwilling to directly say that Moore — a $110 million player with four more years left on his contract — has a future with the Bears heading into an offseason in which his cost could be a problem.
Bears Could Save Money Trading DJ Moore in 2026
While the Bears could take some time to mull Moore’s future, there are a few arguments for them finding a trade partner for him before the official start of the 2026 league year.
For starters, Moore is getting expensive. He will cost $28.5 million against the cap in 2026 — the team’s largest cap hit currently on the books — and is coming off a season in which he finished with the fewest catches (50) and receiving yards (682) of his career. According to Over the Cap, the Bears would save $16.5 million by trading away Moore.
The Bears also have a promising young receiving arsenal in wide receiver Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III and first-round tight end Colston Loveland, who completed his rookie season with team-highs in catches (58) and receiving yards (713) in just 11 starts. So many affordable options can make it more difficult to justify Moore’s high expense.
The Bears could not officially trade Moore until the first day of the 2026 league year on March 12, but teams frequently agree to terms on trades beforehand and then process the transaction when the league’s calendar turns over so that they have a clear picture of what resources they possess at the beginning of the unrestricted free agency period.
According to OTC, though, Moore will have his $15.5 million salary in 2027 become fully guaranteed on the second day of the new league year on March 13. In other words, if the Bears are planning to trade Moore before the 2026 season, it will happen by then.
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