The Buffalo Bills are desperate enough to add wide receiver talent and depth that they may have ignored a major red flag in their biggest move of the offseason.
The Bills, who haven’t had a receiver with more than 821 yards since 2023, gave up a 2nd-round pick for Chicago Bears wide receiver D.J. Moore, hoping he can be that player for them despite his numbers declining each of the last 2 seasons.
Moore signed a 4-year, $110 million contract extension with the Bears before the 2024 season. That followed career highs of 96 receptions, 1,364 yards and 9 total touchdowns in 2023. He followed that with 966 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2024, then a dismal 682 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2025 as the Bears won the NFC North Division.
Bleacher Report’s Moe Moton gave the Bills 1 of his lowest grades — a “C” — for the trade in his postmortem for NFL offseason moves.
“The Bills needed to bolster their wide receiver group, but they did so at a costly price for a player who hasn’t eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards since 2023,” Moton wrote on July 7. “That said, Moore could be Buffalo’s lead pass-catcher and brings much-needed speed to the team’s aerial attack. Yet his receiving yard totals have been on the decline over the last two years. Nonetheless, it’s worth noting that Moore played with Caleb Williams, who has struggled with accuracy in his first two seasons, completing just 60.3 percent of his passes. Also, the 29-year-old wideout ceded targets to younger pass-catchers, Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III and Colston Loveland last season. Perhaps Moore plays a bigger role in the Bills’ offense, though it’s not a guarantee with wide receivers Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman and Joshua Palmer vying for targets. Buffalo is looking for an offensive spark, and Chicago traded a player who had faded in its offense for premium draft capital.”
Bills Need Super Bowl Springboard With Moore
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox called the addition of a legitimate, superstar wide receiver in Moore the one move he “can’t wait” to see play out this season.
“This is part of the reason why we’re excited to see Allen and the Bills operate in training camp,” Knox wrote on July 2. “Another reason is the fact that Allen may finally have a new No. 1 receiver in D.J. Moore. Buffalo has lacked a true No. 1 perimeter target since trading away Stefon Diggs two offseasons ago. Allen has regularly made the most of a mediocre receiving corps, but his inability to depend on receivers getting open (and catching the ball) downfield cost the Bills in the playoffs. So, the Bills traded a 2026 second-round pick to the Chicago Bears for Moore and a 2026 fifth-round pick. That move might just be enough to transform the offense into a championship-caliber unit.”
Despite the frustrating regular-season numbers, Moore was at his best at the most important time. In his 1st 2 career playoff games following the 2025 season, Moore had 11 receptions for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns.
D.J. Moore Reworked Contract for Bills
Moore, 29, did the Bills a solid by reworking his contract just 1 week after the trade, converting approximately $22.5 million of salary into a signing bonus while addiing 1 void year to the end of the deal — a move that cleared up $17.7 million in salary cap space.
“Another high powered offense with not much target competition,” 4th Down Designs wrote on its official X account. “Moore gets the best QB he’s ever played with in Allen.”
Reworking his deal with the Bills is essentially Moore betting on himself to get back to the level he was at with 3 consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons from 2019 to 2021 and again with his career year in 2023.
Moore has been durable — he’s only missed 2 games in 8 seasons and none since 2020. If he can show he’s still elite, that could line up with another big payday for the former 1st-round pick in 2027.
Bills Ignored Diminishing Returns in Blockbuster WR Trade