Chicago Bears’ playmaker listed as top offseason trade candidate across the NFL

The Chicago Bears are going to have some difficult decisions to make this offseason.

After a gangbusters spending spree that saw general manager Ryan Poles triple down on improving the offensive line in front of Caleb Williams, and add veteran depth to bolster the defense, the Bears are projected to enter this offseason with approximately $3.69 million in cap space, just 21st most in the NFL.

That could lead to some players being asked to restructure their deals, or even star-caliber players being traded, in order to create spending flexibility to continue building around Williams and adding to a defense that largely survived on creating takeaways rather than stifling opponents in 2025.

Chicago Bears WR DJ Moore named top trade candidate to watch

Pro Football Focus’ Bradley Locker put together a list of the top trade candidates to watch across the league, including Moore as a likely target for receiver-needy teams.

“Moore was elite after being traded from Carolina to Chicago,” Locker writes for PFF. “Garnering an 89.0 overall PFF grade in 2023. But in the two years since, that number has dwindled to 73.5, including a 72.8 PFF receiving grade. The 2025 season was a bit of a trying one for Moore, who recorded a career low in yards per route run (1.24) with his highest drop rate (4.7%) since 2021. On top of that, questions surrounding his route-running effort — including against the Rams in the playoffs — continued to populate.

“Understandably, the Bears may not want to fracture a receiving group that ranked 12^th in PFF receiving grade this year. But with Moore due an inflated $28.5 million against the cap while grading out as Chicago’s fourth-best receiver, that value doesn’t seem to equate. Perhaps the Bears will give the 28-year-old a fresh start elsewhere as they roll with a younger and cheaper room.”

Moving off Moore makes some sense for Poles, Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams, and the Bears.

Moore would command significant trade value, and could fetch as high as a second-round pick in return, and, after adding Luther Burden and Rome Odunze over the past two draft classes, Chicago may be content leaning into the younger and more affordable pass-catchers to develop alongside Williams.

After Williams and Moore visibly were not on the same page on the interception that ended Chicago’s season, it is fair to question if these two will be able to fix their communications issues or if they’ll even have to, with the possibility that Moore is elsewhere in 2026.

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