Ben Johnson showed he doesn’t need DJ Moore even in a perfect spot to feature him and it could spell the beginning of his end with the Bears
It’s getting harder to justify the price tag with DJ Moore.
The Chicago Bears went into the weekend with tough news after ruling out wide receiver Rome Odunze with a foot injury that was later revealed to be a stress fracture that could potentially sideline him for multiple weeks.
With the injury, the Bears were forced to be without their most productive pass catcher on the season and needed other players to find a way to step up in his absence against the Packers.
“The fortunate thing for us is we have weapons all over the place,” Bears head coach Ben Johnson said when asked about Odunze’s injury after the game. “Our tight end room is very strong, our running back room is strong, we have a lot of depth in that receiver room. I know (Luther Burden III) certainly had a little bit more on his plate here this week and I thought he handled it pretty well.
“I don’t think that we necessarily missed a beat, but yet Rome is such a vital part to what we do. In a lot of ways for Caleb (Williams), it’s his blankie. They got such a great natural rapport that when a guy like that’s out, other guys gotta step up.”
That player, in theory, should have been DJ Moore. You know, the team’s highest-paid offensive player who signed a hefty four-year, $110 million contract extension with Chicago ahead of the 2024 season. Instead, Moore finished the game with just three targets and negative four yards on 58 snaps. Everyone reading this right now had more yards than Moore on Sunday.
Bears are nearing a cross-roads when it comes to DJ Moore’s future in Chicago
It’s hard to pin down the issue with Moore’s impact in Chicago on his role in Johnson’s scheme or his connection with his quarterback, considering his performance was lackluster last season as well. Regardless of the root cause, it’s getting harder to justify his price tag, especially after a game like that when you’d expect Moore to be more involved offensively with Odunze sidelined.
In the meantime, two rookies in Burden and tight end Colston Loveland led the team in receiving on Sunday and continue to get more looks within this offense. And it makes since considering Burden and Loveland are players Johnson hand-picked to be in this offense, Moore frankly isn’t.
While the same can be said for Odunze, his connection with Williams speaks for itself and Odunze is a player Johnson has been praising all season long in terms of the potential he can have working in this offense for years to come. Moore, for two years now, has struggled to form a similar bond with Williams and show the same kind of consistent play that makes you excited for the future.
Depending how the rest of the season plays out, moving Moore right now seems like the reasonable decision for the Bears and the future of this offense. Doing so as a post-June 1st trade makes the most sense from a financial standpoint and saves the Bears a ton of money to allocate elsewhere while giving Johnson his pick for his new WR 2/3 in 2026 and beyond.
It’s a shame to consider the very real possibility because Moore is a great person and at times can be a really good player for this offense. But, his play since receiving his recent extension hasn’t been anywhere near good enough to justify the price and Sunday showed that in a glaring way.
Chicago Bears News
Rome Odunze’s injury takes another troubling turn at the worst possible time, and it’s something the Bears could have prevented
The bad news gets worse for Rome Odunze.
