Moore totals 61 yards in preseason debut

Buscaglia called Moore, who was acquired from the Bears this spring, the “crown jewel of the offseason” for the Bills front office. “Moore’s contributions to the offense within training camp were immediate and obvious,” Buscaglia said. “Allen routinely pushed the ball downfield to Moore, making a concerted effort all summer to build on-field chemistry with the Bills’ new No. 1 receiver. ... The days of ‘everybody eats’ seem to be in the rearview mirror.” It’s a bullish report — one that could mean Moore is among the best values in redraft leagues this season even after being among the NFL’s most inefficient wideouts in 2025. Moore should be in all 12-team lineups for Week 1 against the Texans.

Moore had his ankle rolled up on late in the fourth quarter and could be seen working with trainers on the sideline. Despite the scare, Moore told Brady after the game that he was “good to go,” suggesting there won’t be much to worry about going forward. Moore was impressive in his Bills debut, catching 3-of-4 targets for 61 yards in limited action.

Moore sort of bumbled his way through a status check from Buffalo News’ Katherine Fitzgerald. Initially, the veteran wide receiver said things are “going good,” before talking his way into an up-and-down write-up. Growing pains are expected, especially in the spring, but we sure hope Moore tells us things really are “perfect” a few weeks from now. Moore, 29, has a chance to resume operating as a clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver with his new team. The Bills have lacked a difference-making perimeter threat for years. If he can master the playbook, a stable WR3 season could be in play for him.

Taken by Buffalo with the 125th pick in the 2026 draft, Bell — a hyper-productive wideout at UConn — joins DJ Moore, Khalil Shakir, Josh Palmer, and Keon Coleman in an underwhelming receivers room. Bell, Helman said, enters the NFL with a multifaceted skill set that is highly valued among most NFL front offices. “This is probably the most reckless thing I’ll say on this show,” Helman said. “This is Ja’Marr Chase lite. He’s a freak athlete, he’s explosive, but he’s very powerful and strong. And watching him, I was just like, obviously, he’s not Ja’Marr Chase ... but he does all that type of stuff. He can take it to the house. He can just body people out of the way. He can high point the ball. If I was trying to get Ja’Marr Chase’s skillset on late day two or even into day three, I’m all the way in on this guy.” Helman wasn’t alone in his praise of Bell, who last season was second among all college wideouts in yards per route run. Ryan Fowler of NBC Sports Philadelphia said in March that Bell, 23, was close to a Round One prospect. The Bills took him late on the third day of the draft.

He points out that Moore and Caleb Williams didn’t jive early in the season because Williams wasn’t delivering on-time passes often enough early in the year, and then Moore became less emphasized in their offense later in the season. We mostly believe in his film study, and the contract and cost all point to Moore being the focal point of the passing game in 2026. We’d bet he enters the fantasy WR3 sphere for sure and wouldn’t be surprised if WR2 production was on the table.

McClane first reported on the Patriots and Ravens’ interest in Brown in late February. Per McLane, the Bills “checked in” with the Eagles about trading for Brown before ultimately trading for former Bears WR DJ Moore. McLane believes Moore’s acquisition “theoretically” takes the Bills out of the running for Brown. This makes sense. The Bills guaranteed $15.5 million of Moore’s 2028 salary to facilitate the transaction. The Eagles are reportedly inclined to only deal with AFC teams.

NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero confirmed the picks involved. Given that many believed Chicago would cut Moore this offseason, landing a second-round pick is a massive win for the Bears. With the additions of Rome Odunze, Colston Loveland, and Luther Burden, Moore had been slowly phased out of the Chicago passing game over the past two years. He caught just 50 passes for 682 yards during the regular season. Both marks were career-lows for the eight-year veteran. Moore’s effort and attitude were also pain points for the Bears, which new head coach Ben Johnson hinted at last offseason. Despite his declining numbers, Moore likely still has something left in the tank. The hope for Buffalo is that a change of scenery will revive Moore after a pair of down years. He is now the favorite to lead Buffalo in targets this year, with Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid both working as secondary options.

The bit on him in The Athletic’s article about the Bears at the combine bounces in a few different directions, noting that a third- or fourth-round pick could be enough to acquire him from Chicago. It also quotes a league source saying: “It’s clear to me Caleb [Williams] doesn’t have a ton of trust in DJ. I don’t think DJ has lost a step or anything like that. All the physical ability is still there. But at times, that’s what it boils down to. If your quarterback, for whatever reason, doesn’t have that trust, there becomes a disconnect.” It’s a bit eye-catching for what reads as a reluctant keep conclusion to emerge from those two bits of information, and likely comes down to the fact that the Bears can’t save all that much cap space by moving on from Moore. We shall see, but we’d bet on the Bears at least considering a Moore trade if it came to the table. It’s worth noting that The Athletic’s Bills beat, Joe Buscaglia, keeps putting Moore front-and-center as an option for the Bills.

Schultz also named quarterback Tyson Bagent as another player teams have called to trade for. Moore is coming off a dismal year that saw him reach just 682 yards on 50 grabs. This was despite the Bears’ offense taking arguably the biggest step in the league from 2024 to 2025. He is now a potential cap casualty, though another team could jump the free agency line by acquiring him via trade. The Bears have a stable of young pass-catchers in Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, and Coleston Loveland. It might make sense for both parties to move on at this point. Moore could still hold some reasonable fantasy value if a team is willing to install him as their top option. Whether he can handle that type of role anymore remains to be seen.

The Bears wouldn’t save any real money by releasing Moore because of the way his contract is structured. They could realize $16.5 million in cap space if they traded Moore, but the acquiring team would be taking on a major cap hit to acquire the soon-to-be 29-year-old receiver. It’s possible that the three sides could agree to a new contract before sending Moore out to a new team (our speculation, not Biggs’), but those negotiations always sound easier than they actually are. Moore will be a key domino for the Bears this offseason whether he stays or goes, and it sounds like there’s at least a chance Chicago moves on.