DJ Moore knew what he meant when he’d smile, or wince, or even dramatically throw himself down on the bench, during the Bears’ losing streak last year.
The receiver knows now, though, that it doesn’t matter one bit what he intended.
That’s been the message ground into him by new head coach Ben Johnson — if Moore doesn’t want morning shows or social media conspiracy theorists interpreting his body language, don’t give them anything to talk about.
“Last year was a whole big body language thing,” he told the Sun-Times last week. “So that’s a big thing I’m focusing on. Just keeping my emotions in check, and just going from there and building off on just being a vocal leader and just and just trying to lead this team to some more wins …
“I should have been more aware of it. They just run with it. And it is what it is. I really have nothing to say about it. When they have these outlandish takes, it’s just funny to me.”
Johnson knew all about about Moore’s body language problems as the Lions’ offensive coordinator. When he came to the Bears, he told Moore, quarterback Caleb Williams and others that their slumping on the sideline came across as weakness.
Moore’s most famous such moment came last year, when he walked off the field while a play was still going on against the Cardinals and sat down ion the Bears bench. He said he hurt his ankle, but that didn’t stop Packers safety Xavier McKinney from claiming he had “walked out” on his team.
Johnson’s message?
“Work on not doing it,” Moore said, “and not giving anybody the platform to just talk about it.”
If Moore would rather the world focus on his play, he’ll need to make a jump from a disappointing 2024. After posting a career-high 1,364 receiving yards alongside Justin Fields — and signing a four-year, $110 million contract extension as a result — Moore slumped to 966 receiving yards alongside Williams last year. His 56.8 receiving yards per game was almost 25 yards shy of his average the year before.
Moore said Williams has grown in the nine months since the end of the season.
“He’s been way better than last year,” he said. “You can see him taking the strides to be more of a vocal leader and understanding the offense and how it was supposed to be run from his eyes and Ben’s eyes. We just have to be the players around him to just go out there and help them succeed.”
He believes in Johnson’s system. On a scale of 0-to-100, he said, his confidence is at a 102, based on how the Bears “built bonds” during a tough training camp.
While Rome Odunze has been cast in the role of a traditional big-bodied No. 1 receiver, Johnson has used Moore as a chess piece all preseason. Moore has moved all over the field, including the running back position, where he’ll be used as a pass-catching gadget piece more than a rusher.
Moore joked that he was a pretty good running back in pee-wee football — and hasn’t done it much since. He was the highest-rated receiver in the state of Pennsylvania before attending Maryland, where he had only 17 carries in 37 games.
The Bears put Moore in the backfield, though, because he can handle it. He’s one of the Bears’ quickest studies. Still, he said that this year’s training camp was a mental challenge.
“I’ve just gotta really hone in,” he said.
Both on the field and on the bench.
“Be the best leader I can be right now,” he said. “I don’t really have no, like, set [individual] numbers or goals …. I’m just going into the season open-minded and taking it how it comes. Put out the effort.”