Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson sent his wide receivers into the 2026 NFL offseason with a loud-and-clear message about their dropped passes.
During his end-of-season press conference, Johnson told reporters that his team will go “back to square one” in 2026 after falling short in the 2025 NFL playoffs, but he also acknowledged a few spots in which his Bears built something they can sustain into the next campaign, including their physicality and commitment to sound fundamentals.
While talking about the fundamentals, though, Johnson also mentioned the Bears’ issue with dropped passes throughout the 2025 season, putting his pass-catchers on notice.
“We still can get better in some areas,” Johnson said on January 23. “Like, when I think about being fundamentally sound, we have to do a better job catching the football. And I can tell you right now, that will be a point of emphasis for us when they come back in the springtime [for the offseason workout program].”
Caleb Williams Lost More Than 400 Yards Due to Drops
Bears quarterback Caleb Williams was far from perfect in his second season as a starter. He became the franchise’s single-season passing yards leader with 3,942 yards but also completed 58.1% of his passes, ranking 34th among passers with at least 200 attempts. He even acknowledged that his accuracy and footwork are priorities for the offseason.
That said, Chicago’s pass-catchers let down Williams more than a few times, too.
According to Next Gen Stats, Williams lost more passing yards (404) due to dropped passes than any other starting quarterback in the NFL during the 2025 regular season, finishing with a sizable lead on Matthew Stafford (363) and Trevor Lawrence (320).
The precise total of dropped passes for the Bears in 2025 varies between media outlets, but Fox Sports’ numbers show that Olamide Zaccheaus (five), rookie Luther Burden III (four) and DJ Moore (three) struggled the most with drops among receivers. Running backs Kyle Monangai (six) and D’Andre Swift (four) also contributed to the issue.
By Pro Football Focus’ measurement, the Bears also dropped three passes — for a loss of 37 passing yards — in their divisional-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. First-round rookie tight end Colston Loveland dropped two after just one drop all year.
Easy to see why Johnson is making fixing the drops a priority for the 2026 offseason.
Will Bears Trade Away DJ Moore in 2026 Offseason?
The Bears could reload for the 2026 season with the exact same receiving corps, if they choose. Zaccheaus and Devin Dunvernay are both free agents, but they can clear the cap space to re-sign them to affordable deals. The rest of their receivers are under contract.
Right now, though, Moore’s future in Chicago is one of the biggest Bears talking points.
Moore had a challenging season to evaluate with the Bears in 2025. He finished with career lows in receiving yards (682) and receptions (50), but he also embraced his role in a spread-the-love offense that had four different pass-catchers finish with at least 600 receiving yards and made several big plays in critical moments down the stretch.
Ideally, the Bears would want to keep a talent like Moore on their roster after finishing just two games away from the Super Bowl, but his rising cap charge is harder to justify in 2026 after the emergence of Odunze, Burden and Loveland as capable playmakers.
According to Over the Cap, Moore will cost $28.5 million against the cap in each of the next three years of his $110 million contract. He also has a fully guaranteed $23.485 million salary in 2026 that makes him uncuttable but perfectly palatable as a trade chip — so long as the Bears can find a trade partner willing to take on his pricey contract.
If the Bears are going to trade Moore, they will most likely plan to do so before March 13, the third day of the 2026 league year, a critical trigger date for Moore’s contract on which $15.5 million of his $23.485 million salary in 2027 becomes fully guaranteed.
Ben Johnson Puts Bears WRs on Notice Over Major Issue in 2025