DJ Moore makes his stance clear on his future intentions with the Bears, but the team will still have a tough decision to make

DJ Moore wants to stay in Chicago amid offseason drama.

Kole Noble — Chicago Bears News Writer
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Nov 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (2) takes the field before the game against the New York Giants at Soldier Field.
Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore (2) takes the field before the game against the New York Giants at Soldier Field. Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images

The 2025-26 season could not have ended worse for Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore after being on the wrong end of the game-losing play in overtime against the Los Angeles Rams and then dodging the media after the game and during locker room cleanout day.

It was an all-around bad look for the team’s highest-paid offensive player with trade talks already being mentioned on the outside going into the offseason.

For the first time since the season ended, Moore finally got the chance to clear the air just a little bit and made his stance clear on his future intentions with the Bears.

DJ Moore ‘would love to’ stay in Chicago

“I would love to [stay in Chicago],” Moore said on Thursday, via CHGO Bears on X. “Like I told them in our exit meeting, I love being here. I really didn’t have no expectations for this year, everything went out the window when we got Ben [Johnson]. I just was all in on the team.”

While the Bears exceeded all expectations during the first season under head coach Ben Johnson, going 11-6 during the regular season while winning the NFC North title, Moore put together arguably the worst statistical season of his career and it was frustrating production given his price tag.

Yet, after the season ended, Bears general manager Ryan Poles sang the praises for the impact Moore still provided for the team despite another drop off in his receiving stats.

“I’ll use his words, he didn’t care about stats, all he cared about was winning,” Poles explained. “This is the most winning DJ’s ever had, probably since high school. That’s all he cares about. In terms of roster, like, I said, we got a lot of decisions to make and figuring that out.”

Bears only have two clear paths when it comes to DJ Moore this offseason

Option No. 1 is riding things out with Moore and hoping for a more productive season in his second year under this system. Johnson noted during his end-of-season press conference that all of the receivers need to do a better job going forward in their role, starting with catching the football and overall playing with more effort.

The problem is, the Bears are already tight against the cap with Moore having the highest cap number ($28.5 million) on the team for 2026. Trading Moore before June 1 can save the Bears $16.5 million against the cap, trading him after June 1 saves $24.5 million against the cap. However, Moore’s $15.5M salary for the 2027 season fully guarantees the third day of the league year. So, if a move were to be made, the Bears would have to trade Moore before that date.

The savings speak for itself but the Bears would have to be absolutely confident that they could replace Moore’s role first with the players they currently have in the building. It’s a tough spot to be in and this is easily the toughest decision the Bears have to make over the next few weeks. Moore made his intention clear and now we wait to see how the Bears truly feel about his future in Chicago.

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