Grading The Trade: Brandon Beane gets desperate and puts all the chips in the middle of the table for D.J Moore
The Buffalo Bills are trading for Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore. Quarterback Josh Allen gets a No. 1 option in the receiving room, something that the Bills Mafia has been pounding the table for this offseason. With free agency just days away, general manager Brandon Beane made his move. It’s not without controversy, though, […]
The Buffalo Bills are trading for Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore. Quarterback Josh Allen gets a No. 1 option in the receiving room, something that the Bills Mafia has been pounding the table for this offseason. With free agency just days away, general manager Brandon Beane made his move.
It’s not without controversy, though, as Beane gave up the kitchen sink and put all the chips in the middle of the table to acquire Moore from the Bears. Initial reports are coming in that the Bills acquired Moore and a fifth-round pick in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
A steep price to pay if you ask me, I never thought Moore would go for a second-rounder. Not only that, the Bills are absorbing the entirety of Moore’s contract, which includes a fully-guaranteed $24.5 million salary in each of 2026 and 2027, plus adding $15.5 million in guarantees for 2028.
The compensation is just bananas, especially considering how cap-strapped the Bills are. Buffalo is currently sitting around the bottom of the league in available cap space, and now will have one of the highest-paid wide receiver rooms in the entire league with the trade for Moore.
New information surfaces in the D.J. Moore trade
It’s been reported that the Bills will be guaranteeing $15.5 million of Moore’s base salary in 2028, and his 2026 salary is fully guaranteed, with his 2027 salary becoming fully guaranteed next week. That means the team has guaranteed 60% of his salary in his age 31 season, three years from now.
The move frees up $16.5 million in cap room for the Bears, while the Bills will take on $24.5 million in salary for 2026, a risky move for the Bills and Beane.
There’s a chance that his 2026 cap hit could drop to around $7 million with the guarantees set later in his contract, giving Buffalo plenty of spending money to build for 2026, but it’s yet to be determined. And that’s not a paycut, it’s a restructure — moving his cap hit for future years.
Yes, Buffalo got a true number one threat in the receiving room who has experience with head coach Joe Brady and wide receivers coach Drew Terrell, who spent time with Moore while he was with the Carolina Panthers, but it seems like a steep price to pay.
Brandon Beane gets desperate in a trade for DJ Moore
A second-round pick and absorbing all of that contract is a risky move for the Buffalo Bills, and one that will be heavily scrutinized if it doesn’t pan out. Beane flat-out got fleeced with this decision, but hindsight is always 20/20.
On the bright side, he’s a fantastic separator and has only missed two games in his entire career, with no games missed in the last five years. He’s as reliable as they get.
At the end of the day, this move will be judged by one thing and one thing only: Wins.
If Moore becomes the true No. 1 weapon that Allen has been missing and the Bills finally break through in the postseason, nobody will care about the second-round pick or the cap gymnastics.
But if Moore fails to move the needle and Buffalo still comes up short, this trade will be remembered as one of the most aggressive gambles Beane has ever made, and one that could haunt the organization for years.
Overall grade for the D.J. Moore trade: C+
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