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5 hours ago
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The 2025 NFL draft has created a bit of an interesting situation for the Chicago Bears and wide receiver DJ Moore, at least in the eyes of one analyst.
After the Bears drafted wide receiver Luther Burden in the 2025 NFL draft, Windy City Gridiron's Bill Zimmerman wondered if this could be a sign that the Bears may trade Moore, seeing as how the two players are similar receivers.
"What if the Luther Burden pick was made because the new coaching staff isn't 100% certain on DJ Moore moving forward based on last season's performance?" he wondered aloud on X. "Burden's play comps very similarly to Moore's."
Two other reasons to think Moore could get traded stems from the fact that he and quarterback Caleb Williams were clearly not on the same page in 2024, and with a new head coach in Ben Johnson, he may want to start fresh.
With all of that in mind, Last Word on Sports' Anthony Palacios suggested three possible landing spots for Moore, and the Baltimore Ravens were among them.
"Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens have been having a hard time finding help for Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman," Palacios wrote. "Just because they signed DeAndre Hopkins, it doesn’t mean he’s the long-term fix.
"Moore is easily the better wide receiver in this situation that can last more than 5-6 years and still has a lot of upside as a capable replacement when Hopkins retires."
The Ravens are already well-stocked when it comes to pass-catchers. Hopkins may be over the hill, but he's the No. 3 option in the receivers room behind Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, and the team also has two great pass-catching tight ends in Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely.
That said, Moore would be a clear upgrade over both Hopkins and Bateman and, if Flowers can continue to ascend, he would give the Ravens one of the best one-two punches in the NFL, which will improve their Super Bowl chances.
Moore has tallied four seasons of 1,100 yards or more, including a personal-best 1,364 yards in 2023. He would immediately become the most established wide receiver in Baltimore upon his arrival and would offer a significant boost to quarterback Lamar Jackson.
While that's all well and good, there are a few problems with this scenario.
For starters, trading Moore would leave Chicago very thin at wide receiver. They could ask for Bateman back in the trade and the Ravens would likely be open to that, but Bateman is a clear downgrade and would leave the Bears much more dependent on unproven talent like Burden and Rome Odunze.
On the financial side, Moore's massive $110 million contract runs through 2029 and he has cap hits of $24.9 million or more in each of the remaining years, which could prove to be difficult for the cap-strapped Ravens to fit in.
It is worth pointing out, however, that Moore's guaranteed money runs dry after the 2026 campaign, so the Ravens could cut him if things don't work out, or they could simply restructure him to help with cap space.
At the end of the day, while we do think the Ravens would make this trade, we just don't see the Bears being open to such a move at this point.
Now, if things go badly between Moore and Williams once again in 2025, then we could see Chicago considering a trade in 2026.
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