A year ago, the Chicago Bears made wide receiver DJ Moore the highest-paid player in franchise history when he signed a four-year extension worth $110 million. The buzz around the team was sky high in the offseason after the NFL Draft, the Keenan Allen trade, and the Hard Knocks hype machine, so the Moore extension was the cherry on top, which kept the good vibes rolling.
But the season did not go as expected. The offense never truly clicked, and the team was inconsistent throughout the season, with
both the play caller and head coach being fired midseason.
Whether it was his intention or not, Moore’s demeanor came off negatively, which the media, fans, and opposing teams picked up on.
“Last year was a whole big body language thing,” Moore told Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times last week. “So that’s a big thing I’m focusing on. Just keeping my emotions in check, and just going from there and building off on just being a vocal leader, and just trying to lead this team to some more wins. I should have been more aware of it. They [media and fan narratives] just run with it. And it is what it is. I really have nothing to say about it. When they have these outlandish takes, it’s just funny to me.”
Head coach Ben Johnson addressed the negative perception from Moore and his teammates shortly after he was hired.
“Body language is a huge thing,” Johnson said via The Athletic after an OTA in May. “Demeanor. We don’t want to be a ‘palms-up team’ where we’re questioning everything. No, no, no. To me, that’s a little bit of a sign of weakness. We don’t want to exhibit that from anybody on the team.”
With such high expectations heading into the ’24 season, it’s natural that the losses affected Moore. However, this offseason comes with another set of expectations, with Johnson leading the way and second-year quarterback Caleb Williams primed for a breakout.
“He’s been way better than last year,” Moore said of Williams via the Sun-Times. “You can see him taking the strides to be more of a vocal leader and understanding the offense and how it was supposed to be run from his eyes and Ben’s eyes. We just have to be the players around him to just go out there and help them succeed.”
On the surface, Moore’s 2024 was disappointing as his receiving yards took a tumble from a career high of 1,364 to only 966 in 2025. That was attributed to a lack of throws downfield, because his yards after catch was higher in ’25. Also higher last season was his targets, receptions, offensive touches, and playing time.
Moore is supremely confident in Johnson’s offense, telling the Sun-Times that his confidence level is “102” on a scale of 0-to-100, and he’s in a good place heading into the season.
“Be the best leader I can be right now,” More said of his personal expectations via the Sun-Times. “I don’t really have no, like, set [individual] numbers or goals… I’m just going into the season open-minded and taking it how it comes.”
With Ben Johnson scheming up the offense now and Caleb Williams more comfortable in year two, Moore should become a more efficient player in 2025.
