The trade that will, as of next Wednesday, send receiver DJ Moore from the Bears to the Bills counts as a win-win.
For the Bears, the deal provided a path away from a contract that no longer made financial sense, given the other weapons the team has and Moore’s overall production in 2025.
He arrived via trade with the Panthers in 2023, as part of the deal that allowed the Panthers to make quarterback Bryce Young the No. 1 overall pick that year — and that gave the Bears the 2024 first-rounder that became the No. 1 overall pick (and quarterback Caleb Williams) the next year.
After catching 96 passes for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns (all career highs) in 2023, Moore got a new contract. In 2024, he caught 96 passes for 966 yards and six touchdowns. In both seasons, he started all 17 games.
Last year, Moore also started all 17 games. But his playing time dropped to 80 percent from 95 the year before. And he was targeted only 85 times (down from 140 the prior season), catching a career-low 50 passes.
With plenty of other weapons available to Williams (receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, and tight ends Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet), Moore became a luxury. His $23.485 million for 2026 was already fully guaranteed, and another $15.5 million in 2027 base salary would have become fully guaranteed next Friday. The move allows the Bears to escape $38.9 million in future guarantees. That cash and cap space can be devoted to improving the roster elsewhere.
The Bears ultimately upgraded a fifth-round pick to a second-round pick while dumping a large financial commitment. And the move allows the Bears to devote a greater portion of the overall passing game to the other players who will be back for 2026.
We now know the trade terms for Buffalo’s acquisition of receiver DJ Moore.
Per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, the Bills are trading a 2026 second-round pick to the Bears in exchange for Moore and a 2026 fifth-round pick.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Bills are guaranteeing $15.5 million of Moore’s 2028 base salary with the deal. Moore’s 2026 salary is already fully guaranteed already with his 2027 salary becoming fully guaranteed next week.
Moore, 28, was a Panthers first-round pick in 2018. He’s averaged 79 catches for 1,066 yards with five touchdowns in his eight seasons. But he saw his role reduced with the Bears in 2025, catching just 50 passes for 682 yards with six touchdowns despite starting all 17 games.
Once the deal becomes official next week, he will immediately become the top receiving option for quarterback Josh Allen on the Bills.
The Bills are bringing in a new top offensive weapon.
According to multiple reports, Buffalo and Chicago have agreed to a trade that will send receiver DJ Moore to the Bills.
The deal cannot become official until the start of the new league year next week.
While specific terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, reports indicate Chicago will receive a mid-round pick in exchange for Moore.
Moore, 28, saw his role reduced in Chicago’s offense in 2025. Though he started all 17 games, he finished with career lows in receptions (50) and yards (682).
Moore was last traded in 2023, as part of the deal that sent the No. 1 overall pick to the Panthers. He finished his first season in Chicago with 96 catches for 1,364 yards with eight touchdowns and followed that with 98 receptions for 966 yards with six touchdowns in 2024.
With the deal, Moore will reunite with Joe Brady, who served as Moore’s offensive coordinator with the Panthers from 2020-2021.
Moore has been particularly durable, last missing a game in 2020.
In his eight seasons, he’s caught 608 passes for 8,213 yards with 41 TDs.
With Moore, the Bills will now have a top-caliber receiving weapon for quarterback Josh Allen — a role the team has not had over the last couple of seasons. Last year, Khaliil Shakir led the club with 72 receptions and 719 yards receiving.
Connor McGovern has been a fixture on the Bills offensive line for the last three seasons, but he expects to be wearing a different uniform during the 2026 season.
McGovern told Tim Graham of TheAthletic.com that he’d like to remain with the Bills and that he thinks they’d re-sign him in an ideal scenario, “but sometimes you’ve got to look in the mirror and be realistic.” In this case, McGovern’s reality is being formed by a lack of communication from the Bills since the team’s loss to the Broncos in the playoffs.
“They haven’t contacted me once,” McGovern said. “In my gut, that says it’s over and done.”
McGovern, who is No. 30 on PFT’s list of this year’s top free agents, started at guard in Buffalo in 2023 before moving to center for the last two seasons. Tyler Linderbaum is seen as the top center set to become a free agent next week and McGovern could find plenty of suitors among teams that aren’t going to land the former Ravens first-rounder’s signature on a contract.
The asking price is known. The outcome isn’t.
Where will defensive end Maxx Crosby play next?
DraftKings has the Bears as the +200 favorites to secure his services via trade with the Raiders. Staying put with the Raiders is a +350 proposition.
Five teams are clustered at +700: the Rams (Fuck Them Picks, Part Two), Cowboys, Bills, Ravens, and Eagles.
The Patriots land at +1000, with the Lions and Buccaneers at +1200.
The Raiders, as PFT reported last week, want two first-round picks and a player for Crosby. Crosby, as Jay Glazer said during Super Bowl week, is “done” with the Raiders.
Whether this saga is done remains to be seen. Although no trades can become official until next Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, teams can reach tentative agreements now.
