DJ Moore’s exit has left the Bears in a position that looked unlikely not long ago: they’re poised to get real value out of their wide receiver spending without having to keep pouring money into the position.
The trade that sent Moore to the Buffalo Bills was the clean break Chicago had been inching toward all offseason. His role in the offense no longer matched the financial commitment attached to him, and the Bears needed the cap room the move created. There was a price, naturally, in the form of $12 million in dead money, but for Chicago it was the kind of cost that comes with clearing space and opening the door for others.
Moore now lands in Buffalo with former Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady, which gives him the kind of role he was never realistically going to have again with the Bears. It’s the sort of move that works for both sides.
What Chicago gets out of it is a wide receiver room built far differently than it would have been with Moore still on the roster. According to Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis, the Bears currently have the fifth-cheapest wide receiver room in the league, carrying $21 million in total salary cap obligations. Spotrac pegs it at $20,991,508 across 12 players on the current pre-training cap roster.
That low number is tied heavily to the Bears’ recent draft approach. They’ve taken a wide receiver in each of the last three drafts - Rome Odunze, Luther Burden and Zavion Thomas - and that has kept them from needing a major free-agent splash to replace Moore. The savings from the trade also help explain the number, even with the dead money attached.
The Bills, meanwhile, restructured Moore’s contract after the deal, which lowered his cap hit this year. But as things stand now, he’ll carry a $28.94 million cap hit in each of the next three years.
That’s where the Bears’ outlook gets interesting. There’s a real chance the entire Chicago wide receiver room won’t add up to that figure in 2027, with Odunze currently projected to carry the biggest cap number on the roster.
Of course, this all depends on a few things breaking right. Burden would need the second-year jump plenty of people are expecting.
Odunze has to get rolling and justify being taken in the top 10. And the rest of the group - Thomas, Kalif Raymond and Jahdae Walker - would need to chip in when their names are called.
But if even a couple of those pieces hit, especially a Burden breakout and Odunze finding his footing, the Bears could wind up with the best return on their wide receiver investment in the league.
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