Bears ‘May Look to Trade’ Extension-Seeking Playmaker, Says Analyst

Getty Bears general manager Ryan Poles.

The Chicago Bears have gone to great lengths to build up their receiving corps over the past year, trading for Chase Claypool and D.J. Moore and drafting Cincinnati’s Tyler Scott in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL draft. Could a deeper group of receivers tempt them to shop one of their starters for a trade, though?

Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus recently suggested the Bears could do exactly that with starting wide receiver Darnell Mooney ahead of the NFL’s 53-man roster cut deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 29. While he admitted it would be a “major surprise” if the Bears tried to trade Mooney, he argued it could be possible if Mooney’s camp decides contract negotiations are not progressing how they want with Chicago.

Spielberger also identified Carolina, Denver, Houston and Las Vegas as four potential landing spots for Mooney, each with its own set of short- or long-term needs at receiver.

“It would come as a major surprise if the Bears entertained the idea of actually moving on from Darnell Mooney,” Spielberger wrote in his August 28 article,” but it would be less surprising if Mooney was a bit frustrated with the lack of progress in extension conversations to this point in the offseason and was open to a change of scenery.”

Darnell Mooney’s Future Remains Unclear in Chicago

Ryan Poles has said in the past that he “loves” Mooney and his fit with their roster, but the second-year Bears general manager also indicated in August that they will need to see how the 25-year-old performs in 2023 coming off a season-ending ankle injury before they get too deep into talks about a potential contract extension.

Mooney was a 1,000-yard receiver in the final year of the Matt Nagy coaching regime, hauling in a career-high 81 receptions and looking like a high-quality downfield threat. While a stagnant passing offense in 2022 caused his receiving totals to drop over the 12 games he was healthy, he still finished with the highest catch percentage (65.6%) and most yards per target (8.1) of his career while building essential chemistry with Fields.

If Mooney can return without losing his step and capitalize on Moore drawing attention as the offense’s No. 1 receiver, he could set himself up for a lucrative extension in 2024. It will be interesting to see whether the team to pay him will be the Bears, though, with Claypool — a player Poles traded a second-round to get — also seeking a new deal.

The Bears are once again projected to have the most cap space in the NFL (about $85.88 million) next offseason and, as a result, are rich enough to afford to extend both Mooney and Claypool if they were really set on keeping them both around. With Moore under contract through the 2025 season and Scott and Velus Jones Jr. on rookie deals, though, it would be understandable if the Bears opted to invest in only one of them.

Mooney Too Important to Justin Fields’ Development

GettyBears quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver Darnell Mooney.

In the modern NFL, a veteran wide receiver trade is never something that can be ruled out when it comes to extension-seeking veterans. Davante Adams requested to be traded away from an offense that featured Aaron Rodgers due to his contract problems with the Green Bay Packers. AJ Brown was shipped from Tennessee to Philadelphia on draft night and promptly signed a four-year extension with the Eagles.

When it comes to Mooney, though, the Bears likely recognize that he is too important to the growth and development of Fields — and the success of their 2023 offense — to simply trade away before the start of the regular season.

Fields is heading into a crucial third season with the Bears where everyone around the league will be looking to see if he can take a noticeable step forward as a passer. Poles and the Bears have indicated they believe he can do it, evidenced by their devotion to adding receiving weapons and frontline protectors for him during the 2023 offseason. If they were to subtract Mooney from the equation, though, Fields would lose the passing target with which he has banked the most chemistry over his first two seasons.

Even if throughout the course of the season the Bears find that Claypool and Scott are exceeding expectations, there is little logic in trying to move on from Mooney before his contract expires. It seems unlikely they will know for certain that they do not want him back before the trade deadline at the season’s midpoint, and if they ultimately decide to let him walk in 2024 free agency, they could still gain a compensatory pick for him.

To put it plainly, unless Mooney starts to cause a stir about his contract situation, the Bears are almost certainly committed to keeping him through the 2023 campaign.