The Chicago Bears have already moved on from one wide receiver this season, and it's looking like another might be on the move after the season ends.

Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney is in the final year of his 4-year, $3.5 million rookie contract with the team. This time last year, it looked like Mooney could be the team's top weapon in the passing game, but that role has since been dominated by DJ Moore in 2023.

Given Moore's emergence as the next great Bears wide receiver, what will become of Mooney's future in Chicago?

For starters, we have to look at the obvious. Moore is flat out commanding the Bears target share this season. Through five games, Moore is getting 22.4 percent of the team's total targets. By comparison, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson has received 29.9 percent of his team's targets through four games.

In Thursday's win over the Commanders, Moore was targeted 10 times and finished the game as the only wide receiver on the roster with a reception. Mooney has quickly become an afterthought in the Bears offense, a complete 180 on how we thought he was going to be utilized in 2023.

After the team extended tight end Cole Kmet back in July, many expected cornerback Jaylon Johnson or Mooney to be next in line for a new deal. However, both entered into the season without a contract in place. General manager Ryan Poles addressed the future of both players back in August and explained why he decided to hold off on the negotiations.

"It kind of creates a distraction for the entire year," Poles said. "We like those guys. We’d love to have them here long-term, so we’ll just kind of stick with our plan.”

That plan for Mooney might be starting to look a little different after five games than it did before the start of the season. With Moore taking the bulk of the targets on offense, Mooney simply hasn't lived up to his offseason expectations.

In five starts as the team's number two wide receiver, Mooney has recorded just 8 receptions for 104 yards and 1 touchdown. The Bears former 5th-round pick is averaging a career-low 20.8 receiving yards per game and 1.6 receptions per game.

However, Mooney still ranks third on the team in receiving yards behind Moore and Kmet while tying a career-high 13.0 yards per reception. Mooney is merely just playing a different role in the Bears offense in 2023, but that slight change could make a major difference in his offseason value with the team.

Looking at the upcoming wide receiver free-agents in 2024, Mooney could create a solid market value for himself and generate some serious interest from other teams willing to spend more than Chicago. According to Spotrac, Mooney is expected to garner a 4 year, $52.3M contract in the open market next season.

That's a number that would be hard for the Bears to justifiably match for a wide receiver #2 on their offense. It doesn't matter if the team likes Mooney or not, the only scenario that could see him return to Chicago is if Mooney takes the discount to return as Moore's second fiddle instead of chasing the opportunity to earn more as another team's top option. For him, it should be an easy decision.

Poles did the right move by gambling on Mooney to prove his worth in the Bears' offense this season before locking him in on a long-term deal, but now it might have led to losing his wide receiver in the process. Even if Mooney chooses to return to Chicago, the Bears will still need to be in the market for another pass catcher one way or the other to further complement Moore.

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How will this affect the team’s future?