The first sign that trading receiver DJ Moore was a real possibility for the Bears came at the NFL Scouting Combine when general manager Ryan Poles met the Chicago media in the Indiana Convention Center. 

“We want him here. We think highly of him,” Poles said then. “He’s a great teammate. He has been productive pretty consistently over the last however many years he’s been here. So I have nothing but great things to say about him. 

“But this is the time now where we have to look at all the different scenarios to see what can allow us to put the best team out there. And I’ve talked about this before. There are relationships there. There’s a lot there that make it really, really difficult. He’s a guy we want here. But we have to look at all the different scenarios.”

One of those scenarios came to fruition on Thursday. Moore, 28, is headed to the Buffalo Bills in a deal that cannot be finalized until the new league year begins next Wednesday. ESPN reported the trade first. The Bears will send a 2026 fifth-round pick with Moore in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick from the Bills.

After spending the first five seasons of his career with the Carolina Panthers, Moore was dealt to the Bears in 2023 before the league year began for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The Bears also received two first-round picks and two second-round picks.

In his first season in Chicago, Moore clicked with quarterback Justin Fields, setting career highs in receptions (96), receiving yards (1,364) and touchdowns (eight). The Bears later signed Moore to a four-year, $110 million extension. It included a salary-cap hit of $24.5 million for the 2026 season. 

In 2024, Moore caught 98 passes from quarterback Caleb Williams, a rookie that season, but saw his yards dip below the 1,000-yard mark.  In 2025, with Williams and coach Ben Johnson, Moore set career lows in both receptions (50) and yards (684).

CHGO’s staff weighs in on the news:

Adam Jahns: DJ Moore’s time in Chicago should be remembered fondly. He delivered some of the most memorable plays in Bears history during the 2025 season. The Bears slayed the Green Bay Packers because of him. 

No one will forget quarterback Caleb Williams’ game-winning, 46-yard touchdown pass to Moore against the Packers in Week 16. Soldier Field literally shook because of it. It won NFL Moment of the Year at the NFL Honors. 

But the business of football is cutthroat. The Bears are a better team with Moore but keeping him on the roster was a luxury. Ben Johnson’s offense still has tight end Colston Loveland and receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III. The team needed the cap space created by Moore’s trade for other positions, starting with center after Drew Dalman’s surprise retirement. The move also opens the door for a trade for defensive end Maxx Crosby from the Las Vegas Raiders.

The most surprising thing about the trade is the compensation. Poles secured a second-round pick in 2026 from the Bills, who received a fifth-round pick this year along with Moore.

Patrick Norton: Moore’s legacy in Chicago shouldn’t be a complicated one. Moore was almost always a part of the biggest moments in the last three seasons in Chicago. His 230-yard game against the Commanders on prime time back in 2023 sticks out as one of the greatest individual performances I can remember watching.

His catch against the Green Bay Packers in overtime to push the Bears firmly into the driver’s seat in the NFC North will top highlight reels in Chicago for a long time, too. 

But the move makes sense for the Bears financially. It frees up enough space – $16.5 million per Over The Cap – to splurge on positions of need like center or along the defensive line in free agency. It also, however, creates a hole in the receiver’s room regardless of the team’s belief in Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III in the future.

Greg Braggs Jr: DJ Moore was a part of the first signals that the tides were turning in Chicago. The trade with the Carolina Panthers three years ago made way for Caleb Williams and many other dominoes to fall. His short Chicago roller-coaster tenure ended with the Bears winning the NFC North and DJ hauling in two of the most memorable moments in Chicago Bears history.

From a fan’s standpoint, he will be missed. But from a team structure standpoint this made all the sense in the world to free up money for Ryan Poles and Ben Johnson to work with. Add in that the Bills sent a second-round pick back to to the Bears in the deal? Very impressive start to a challenging offseason for Ryan Poles.