Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Dan Wiederer reflects on receiver DJ Moore's tenure with the Bears
05 Mar 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What led to the Bears trading DJ Moore to the Bills?
How gratifying is it when you win that battle and get the football thrown to you? What?
Does that please you? I mean, is that something you want to do?
It doesn't please me, but it's good to see. Good to hear him out there doing that. And that means he's doing great.
Oh, man. Now we won't have any more awkward moments between Dan Wiederer, Mark Grody and DJ Moore. That's the greatest hits album right there.
There's more than that, too. Well, I mean, there's a DJ Moore lifetime of interesting back and forths between myself and DJ or Weedzy and DJ. He's an interesting character. Dan and I talk a lot about him on and off the air. I don't even know if character is the right word. An interesting individual who was a good Chicago Bear.
He was a good Chicago Bear, and now he is set to be traded. We got the information not just from Adam Schefter, but the details from Tom Pellicero. The Bears will receive a 2026 second round pick. DJ Moore in a 2026 this year fifth round pick. Go to the bills. And that is the exchange. We bring in Dan Weterer, the partner of the Take the North podcast with Mark. He's a senior writer for
for The Athletic covering the Bears on our hotline here on Rahimi Harrison-Grody. Dan, what is your initial reaction to this?
Yeah, man, it's been a busy week here for the Chicago Bears, and I had the sense coming out of the combine that their headlines in the short term were going to be more subtractions Then additions, we've had two big subtractions from the Bears' offense here in the last 48 hours.
Eventually, they're going to start trying to fill those holes and try to figure out how to solidify a championship-contending roster. It felt like this was kind of the momentum that was building in terms of DJ's exit, and I think that the return that the Bears got back is...
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Chapter 2: How does DJ Moore's performance impact the Bears' future?
She should make them feel pretty encouraged because now they will have four picks in the top 90 to go make some hay in the draft.
Yeah, I love the idea of the Bears getting a second-round pick. The initial thought was a mid-round pick, so I was thinking it was going to be a third or a fourth, which I guess you could have lived with, but a second-round pick. Feels really good.
It's interesting, Dan, because you and Kevin Fishbane, we had just been talking about your article where you guys had cited sources from personnel, people from the Combine, kind of going the good and the bad of DJ Moore, making some massive catches, but also it was not a productive year relative to what DJ Moore usually does, and the chemistry has always been just, I guess, spotty with Caleb Williams.
Yeah, it was going back to the week in London where DJ had kind of brought up the word bossy, if you remember that. And that was sort of the first sign that these guys weren't able to get on the exact same page as consistently as everyone would have liked them to. And so it just, for whatever reason, didn't click. You know, DJ's got a different kind of style as a player.
Obviously, I think the Bears probably assessed the lack of click there in making the decision that they made here. And now, again, this is a move that is going to up the pressure on Roma Junze. This is a guy that you drafted in the top ten. Well, now you've got to become a top ten pick. In season three in the NFL, you've got to become the guy for this offense.
Colston Lovell will be part of that mix as well, obviously. Luther Burden as well. So you do have ways to offset the loss of DJ Moore. But it's really hard to subtract really good football players from your team And feel great about it. And so over the last couple days, the Bears have had to do that.
And now, like I said, they've got six weeks here and obviously the next week with some very intense decisions ahead to try to figure out what routes they want to take to build this thing up.
Dan, given that this news happened within a couple days of the Drew Dahlman news, when you consider that part of it, how much do you think, if any, that had a factor in the Bears needing to move at the time their highest paid player?
Yeah, I don't think the two are connected. I think the DJ decision was kind of, like I said, the momentum had kind of been building in that direction. The wind was blowing that way for a little bit. They're probably two independent things. But again, these are two really good players, right? It's a Pro Bowl center and a receiver who's threatened 1,200 yards a bunch of times.
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Chapter 3: What does DJ Moore's trade mean for the Bears' draft strategy?
And so it's not a sort of leap of blind faith conversation. By the Bills, they've got experience with Joe Brady and DJ Moore, and so that part of the storyline is interesting as well.
Well, and some of the other reports that have popped up, and it's all just happening right now, fluid, and Layla and I have been bringing fluid as the word of the offseason so far, and one of them indicated, look, the Bears may not be done making trades. When you hear that, what do you think? stay nearby.
Don't take a breath. Don't go to the bathroom. Don't try to swing out for lunch or anything. Just be ready to react because this is that part of March that's really become the NFL's version of March Madness.
The new league year and the official opening of free agency isn't until next week, but we've seen this over the last several years that the week before the new league year opens is when a lot of these trades start to work. And so, yeah, again, stand by.
I think what you, Gertie, I think the one thing that you really take note of, and really it kind of corresponds with Ben Johnson's arrival, is that the Bears are going to be aggressive, right? Like, they're going to know what they want, and they're going to go after what they want. And so we'll see what the next step of that is. I don't know, you know, what the next move might be.
Wouldn't dare to speculate here on these airwaves right now, but I would imagine that their plans are starting to go in domino order here.
We're talking to Dan Wiederer, the senior writer for The Athletic covering the Bears. He is also the co-host of the Take the North podcast. Ahead of this, DJ Moore news when it comes to DJ going to the Buffalo Bills. That is not finalized or can't be finalized until the league year begins.
I know that that is an important note, just the fact that it can't be official until then, but since there seems to be a deal in place, as you understand it, does that mean the Bears are going to move forward just assuming that that's the case, trying to get other things in place?
I don't think that there's going to be anything in a DJ Moore physical that would raise any red flags. This is a guy who plays all the time and takes really good care of himself and gets himself back on the field. And so really it is just a formality in terms of when the calendar flips over for the NFL. And that will be next Wednesday that this will be. officially announced.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of DJ Moore's character on his legacy?
So the Bears are going to have to start to go through their process now of attacking what they need to get.
Man, what do you think specifically about the Max Crosby possibilities to the Bears? Are you hearing anything differently? Does that make sense more now than maybe it did yesterday?
Nothing new on that front. I mean, I think, again, the Bears are not the only— team involved in sort of kicking around on that. And so it really, you know, the Raiders have control of this until they don't. They've got the control of what the asking price is. The Bears have made it very clear, really through Ryan Poles' entire time as general manager, that they set parameters.
And when things get outside those parameters, you have to have the discipline to say thanks, but no thanks. And so, like, that's going to be a fluid situation as the Raiders try to get the best possible deal for themselves. Or if they don't find one that they like, they've got Max Crosby under contract through 2029. So they can just stand pat and try to make it work with him.
That's been done before with other players in the past. And so, yeah, I would say it's fluid. But you do pick up a draft pick. You do pick up cap space from this DJ Moore trade. And so, like, if that is really something –
that you feel like is going to be an engine of helping you try to go chase the Super Bowl, and you're able to create the resources to go make it happen, then you got to consider it. But again, I think those parameters that they've set that we're not privy to at this point will be key in that entire discussion.
Dan, also, a lot of people bringing this up on our Twitch chat and on our text line, and it is valid. We still don't necessarily know if the Bears are completely cut off from receiving compensatory picks from the NFL for Ian Cunningham's movement. Is there still a chance that that would factor in? Because if so, this draft looks a whole lot better for the Bears than initially thought of.
And I know that league year begins next week.
Right, and because we haven't heard anything on that, I'm operating under the assumption that it's not happening. The teams need to know what their draft board looks like when they're doing business like the Bears are doing right now and with a trade like this. And so you would assume that if they were going to get those picks that there would have been some sort of formal announcement by now.
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Chapter 5: How will the Bears replace DJ Moore's contributions?
So I guess there's a small window here where something could change But I have heard nothing other than a little bit of hope in the tone of Ryan Poles' voice last week that something would happen in that regard. So I'm just under the assumption that it's not going to.
Weedzy, just reflecting a little bit on DJ Moore's time here with the Chicago Bears. I was going through the... the list of all-time Bears wide receivers. He's at, right now, according to Pro Football Reference, he is at No. 17 all-time, just ahead of the great Wendell Davis and Cole Komet and Dennis McKinnon, who was at No. 20 on that list.
You and I had many conversations together with DJ Moore. We talk about him off the air. He's an interesting character, kind of unflappable. Your thoughts on DJ Moore as a Bear, maybe on the field and even as a personality in that locker room?
Yeah, well, unique personality, and you and I have experienced it up close and personal more than once, and obviously score listeners have as well with DJ joining the morning show for a stretch of time there as well. You know, easy to talk to.
You know, you didn't always know where the conversation was going to go, but he wasn't the guy that you were like, oh, man, this is dreadful to go have, you know, an audience with DJ for a little bit. So it was always fun to kind of pick his brain and then just sort of buckle yourself into that roller coaster.
When DJ was part of that trade less than three years ago with Carolina, you guys all remember where you were when that blockbuster broke. You know, there was a sense that, oh, wow, the Bears are getting a proven receiver, you know, the likes of which, other than Brandon Marshall, that this organization hadn't really seen.
And his first couple years here, he really produced to that level, and you felt really good about it. I mean, you think back to his first preseason game at Soldier Field and, you know, taking a short pass and turning into a big touchdown and and then obviously that the iconic moment of the the walk-off touchdown against Green Bay will live forever in Chicago and people will never forget
that moment or the feeling of that moment. And so those things will live on in DJ's legacy as a Bear. But, you know, it's like all these things in the NFL. Life comes at you fast. And I don't think that anybody would have thought that this run with DJ would have ended in this way this quickly.
And yet here he is moving on to his third team in Buffalo and hopefully for his sake pursuing a chance to go try to help that team to a Super Bowl.
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Chapter 6: What are the Bears' immediate needs following the trade?
Moore's 2028 base salary per his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey. Moore's 2026 salary is fully guaranteed, and his 2027 salary becomes fully guaranteed next week. Does that affect your thought process on this at all, or how does that shake out for the Bills?
No. That was always going to be a two-year investment that whoever was trading for DJ was going to make. It's essentially a two-year, $40 million dice roll to try to make him be a cornerstone. of who you are offensively.
I'm still sifting through some of the dead cap ramifications for the Bears just based on the extension that they gave him during training camp a couple years ago and what that means. Like, DJ had a $28.5 million salary cap hit if he remained on the Bears for 2026, but they don't get all $28.5 million of that back because of some of the dead cap ramifications.
And so it's going to be interesting as the day goes on to just kind of sort through those numbers and figure out what the current –
cap situation looks like with the additional 10 coming from the Dolman retirement and trying to piece together what this looks like as they go into the new league year next year, trying to figure out what games they can play in and what they can't play in based on where their salary cap situation is.
Dan Weterer, I know you've got to go. Thank you so much for joining the show and adding some much needed understanding and perspective.
You guys are the best. Enjoy the day, and then maybe you'll have some more breaking news before your show's up.
Whoa, okay. Okay, that's good to know, Dan. Thank you for that nugget. That's Dan Wiederer, Mark's co-host on Take the North.
It's a fluid situation. I mean, it is. I mean, everything is floating about, so why not? Why not more?
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Chapter 7: How does DJ Moore's past with the Bears shape perceptions?
I don't know, but I checked for those of you interested. So the Cowboys seem to be under the understanding that it's two first-rounders for Max Crosby still.
And they ain't doing it.
And, you know, Danny said he didn't think so.
So it's got to be two. Well, yeah, that's what's out there, right? Two first-rounders and a legit player.
It's the Micah Parsons deal.
Yeah, yeah, yep.
So we'll see if that comes into play. But that's another nugget. And part of the reason we bring it up is because there's speculation from guys like Jordan Schultz out there saying he doesn't think the Bears are done. And Dan just got off the phone with us making it sound like he may not think the Bears are done.
Yeah, I mean, we know that there are things to do. I mean, I can't wait till next week when we're talking about free agency and deals starting to be put in place. Can I just say one thing? Yeah, and I could tell you wanted to say something, yeah. Max!
Ray has a one-track mind.
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Chapter 8: What are the next steps for the Bears after this trade?
The age, 29, going on 30 at this point.
There was a surgery.
There was a surgery. So teams are, and I guess Dallas would be one of them, that is looking at that very closely. But if I'm the Raiders, of course. Stay strong. Two first-rounders and a player. The alternative is we get to keep Max Crosby with two X's on our team if you're the Raiders.
Stay strong. Yeah, worst case scenario, you still have Max Crosby.
Yeah, you still have Max Crosby.
But you're paying him over $35 million a year.
Uh-huh.
So there's that part of it. And that is very valid. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. This is wish casting. But when I heard about this trade, the first thing I thought was they were freeing up money to try to get Tyler Linderbaum.
They might be. Thought. It's all in place.
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