Plenty of prestige comes with the moniker of highest-paid player on an NFL franchise, but several risks are involved as well.
Chicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore may find that out this offseason, as his four-year contract extension worth $110 million total kicks in for the 2026 campaign. And while Chicago inked him to that deal in July 2024, the pertinent question is whether he will play any of it in a Bears uniform.
Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron is the latest analyst to project that the answer to the query is no, as he suggested a trade involving Moore and the Tennessee Titans on Friday, December 26. Infante’s proposal involves a conditional fourth-round pick in 2027, which becomes a third-rounder if Moore posts 1,000 or more receiving yards for Tennessee next season.
“I thought long and hard about whether or not the Bears should keep Moore, especially considering how he has stepped up in recent weeks in the absences of Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III,” Infante wrote.
“That said, he’s currently the eighth-ranked wide receiver in the NFL in 2026 cap hit,” Infante continued. “Going into Week 17, he’s 38th among wide receivers in receptions and [33rd] at his position in receiving yards. From that perspective, he isn’t living up to his current salary.”
Bears Can Use DJ Moore’s Salary More Effectively Elsewhere on Roster
GettyWide receiver DJ Moore of the Chicago Bears.
Moore carries a $28.5 million salary cap hit in 2026. His salary represents the highest on Chicago’s books by a little more than $3 million over defensive end Montez Sweat and exactly $3 million more than two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
The Bears can save $24.5 million against the cap by moving Moore with a post-June 1 designation, which would bump the team’s current available spending figure from $1.24 million to $25.74 million.
Chicago owns seven draft picks in 2026 whom the franchise will have to pay, and clear deficiencies on the roster still exist — such as a better edge-rusher alongside Sweat, who has tallied 21 sacks across 40 career games with the Bears.
Those numbers by Sweat are good, but far from elite. The defense as a unit has tallied just 31 total sacks through 15 outings in 2025, which ties Chicago for 23rd in the league with the Dallas Cowboys, who famously traded away pass-rusher Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers in late August.
Titans Make Sense as Trade Partner for Bears, DJ Moore
GettyChicago Bears wide receiver DJ Moore.
It isn’t that Moore doesn’t have value. As a wideout with four 1,000-plus yard seasons in eight years, he profiles as a middle-of-the-road No. 1 receiver heading into his age-29 campaign in 2026.
And that is exactly what Moore would be for a Titans team that needs a reliable go-to pass-catcher for rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.
Tennessee is a good partner for Moore under Infante’s trade scenario, as his talent and that team’s lack of skill-position firepower should translate into a fifth 1,000-yard campaign for Moore, which would bring a third-round pick back to Chicago in 2027 rather than a fourth-rounder.
If Odunze had not posted a breakout season in his second year prior to a foot injury that sidelined him for the last three games, and if head coach Ben Johnson did not draft tight end Colston Loveland in the first round and Burden in the second, Moore would probably have been more productive this season.
Had the Bears’ offense not relied so heavily on the run game and passing out of two-tight end sets in Johnson’s first year at the helm, then Chicago would probably need Moore more desperately.
But as it is, Moore is somewhat superfluous to the way the Bears want to play when fully healthy. That, combined with the highest pay on the team on what nevertheless remains a tradable contract, equals a good chance that Moore is catching passes elsewhere come next season.
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