Brad Biggs at the Chicago Tribune on which trade or signing surprised him during the free agent portion of the offseason:
None of the moves really came across as surprising. It was eye-opening the Bears got a second-round pick from the Buffalo Bills for [D.J.] Moore and a fifth-round pick. As openly as the Bears discussed the possibility of trading Moore, it became pretty evident they were telling everyone, “Come make us an offer.” The Bears liked Moore, but they needed the cap space the move created. Given they were so open about trading him, getting a second-rounder back was impressive even if they had to ship a fifth to Buffalo. Maybe the Bills feared Ryan Poles could put together a deal with the division rival Patriots, who also needed receivers.
I, too, was surprised by this. But my gut feeling was that in order to get such a good deal, the Bears would have to eat some of Moore’s $23.5 million base salary. Which would, of course, defeat the purpose of the trade.
It looked to me like Bears head coach Ben Johnson never really knew what to do with Moore. He’s not particularly big and he’s not particularly fast, and he wasn’t a particularly good fit for anything that Johnson wanted to do. Moore probably would have been OK as a #3 receiver in Johnson’s offense, but he was being paid to be a good #1 receiver. That’s why Johnson was doing things like putting Moore into the backfield as a running back in order to maximize his value. It was an awkward situation.
Bills head coach Joe Brady was the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in 2020–2021 when Moore was a starting wide receiver for the team. Brady might very well have a better idea of how to use Moore to maximize his production.
Still, you have to wonder who the Bills were bidding against at that salary for Moore.
So, yes, the compensation that the Bears received was a surprise. Nevertheless, this looks like it could be a trade that could work out well for both sides.