Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
5 On It: What was your biggest takeaway from Bears’ end-of-season press conference?
21 Jan 2026
Chapter 1: What were the highlights from Ryan Poles' press conference?
That was the Ryan Poles press conference brought to you by your local Hyundai dealers. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 670 The Score. It's what he glossed over in the answer about DJ Moore that is giving me the most pause.
And Marshall, you and I both looked at each other with raised eyebrows and turned to each other sharply as if to say, whoo, because when he says a lot of roster decisions to make about who Someone who is thought to be a previously established cornerstone offensively of this team. The highest paid bear, no less, in average annual salary per year. That according to SpotRack, DJ Moore.
Well, I think the important word in that sentence that he said was previously.
Chapter 2: Why is DJ Moore's performance a point of concern?
Because when you talk about DJ Moore, that was then, this is now. And understanding where he is as far as what he's eating up on that salary cap. And look, DJ Moore is an absolute football warrior. I take him at his word when he talks about the stats. He really did just want to win because he had been in the NFL for closer to a decade than five years and had never won before.
This is his first ever playoff game in the NFL. And you know what? He played like it was his first ever playoff game, leaving it all out there, whether it was the one-handed catch or coming back from extended time in the blue tent. The man wanted to keep winning.
Yeah, his first playoff two games, ultimately.
And so you understand that he's been so important to get to this level. But at the same time, you can't lose the context that there's been some issues between him and the quarterback, Caleb Williams. Like we've talked about it on the show about how other receivers, other pass catchers have looked much more comfortable with Caleb at times than DJ Moore has.
It's about fits. It's not necessarily about talent. I keep reminding everybody of this because it's the best example I can think of. The reason that Khalil Mack became a bear was because John Gruden didn't think he fit in on his team in Las Vegas.
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Chapter 3: How do roster decisions impact DJ Moore's future?
Not from a personality standpoint, but from a talent fit and they knew they could get a lot for him in return of a trade. And the Bears benefited greatly from that.
And I'm not advocating necessarily for a trade of DJ Moore, but I am trying to figure out what assessments of the talent you know and the players you know and who you've become familiar with is going to be had by the man who just spoke very selectively, like that was smart language out of Ryan Poles the entire time when he discussed what he did.
And the way he said it, it's those little phrases where you're thinking out loud that lets you understand that his job might not be safe either or his role in the team might change. And given how we just went through the pass rush numbers and all of that part of it, and given how we talked about why isn't DJ Moore getting more targets, that's a construct. You can't target yourself.
I know a lot of receivers who would like to.
That's every receiver, but go ahead.
I didn't want to generalize the entirety of it.
I will do it. Fair enough. Never met a receiver who was like, ah, I wish I had less targets. Never met one of those.
That's a picture of Keyshawn Johnson. But when it comes to being able to create opportunities for yourself, or maybe it's just the way that Caleb Williams sees the field based on Ben Johnson's formations and who he's slotting where, it could be something that impersonal. That is leading to a question about somebody's value to the rest of the league. Everybody in your Max Crosby hats.
I know we've created a monster and a frenzy at that, but everybody's talking about how they need a receiver. There's always ways that a team is going to change. It's just like what the player said after the game. But for Ryan Poles to say that part? That was very curious to me.
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