The Chicago Bears‘ decision to trade DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills was more complicated than it seemed on the surface.

Head coach Ben Johnson spoke with media members at the NFL‘s annual league meetings in Phoenix on Monday, March 30 and talked openly about his own difficulties saying goodbye to the veteran wide receiver.

“I love DJ,” Johnson said. “It hurts because I viewed him as one of the leaders.”

Bears Turned Down Chance to Trade DJ Moore to Bills During 2025 Season

Moore’s value to the offense down the stretch of last season was indisputable, as he filled in for an injured Rome Odunze as the top option in the receiver room and put up two big games against the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers in Weeks 15 and 16, respectively, which helped the Bears seal their first NFC North Division title since 2018.

Then, in the playoffs, Moore put together two quality outings, tallying a combined 11 receptions for 116 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns.

As it turns out, Chicago had a chance to deal Moore to the Bills at the midseason trade deadline, a decision in retrospect that could have proven catastrophic, as he was critical to the franchise’s most accomplished campaign since 2010 — the last time it won a playoff game prior to January.

“[Moore] was one of the guys that we called and checked,” Buffalo GM Brandon Beane said during a Monday appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “And Chicago shut it down. They were trying to make a run. But I think they at least knew there was interest, and they reached back out when we got to Indy [for the NFL combine] and said, ‘Hey, you know, maybe we’d be open if something made sense.’ And we [were] fortunate to be able to figure that out.”

DJ Moore No Longer Made Sense in Chicago at Elevated Price

Moore’s trade this offseason also appears unquestionably a win for Chicago.

He put up the worst statistical production of his eight-year career in 2025 with 50 receptions for 682 yards and six scores. Those are reasonable WR2 numbers, but Moore is entering the first season of a four-year, $110 million extension in September that would have rendered him the highest-plaid player on Chicago’s roster.

That made little sense, not only because of Moore’s declining production and increasing age (he turns 29 in April), but also because Odunze had already begun to pass him as the Bears’ WR1.

Beyond that, Chicago frequently employs two-tight end sets, which means two wideouts on the field instead of three. Johnson spent the first two picks of his tenure — Nos. 10 and 39 in Rounds 1 and 2, respectively, of the 2025 draft — on tight end Colston Loveland and slot receiver Luther Burden III.

Loveland emerged last season the top target in the pass game, regardless of position. Meanwhile, Burden came on strong at the end of the year, and Johnson said this week he intends to grow Burden’s role in the offense in 2026.

Combine that with TE2 Cole Kmet and his $50 million contract, and the workload just doesn’t exist for Moore — and certainly not at his current price.

The Bears kept him long enough to make the most out of last season, allowing Moore to enjoy and contribute meaningfully to the fruits of the rebuild he has been part of the past three years, and then dealt him and a fifth-round pick to Buffalo for a second-rounder (No. 60 overall) that Chicago can use to build up a defense badly in need of upgrades.