DJ Moore was on Cloud Nine coming into the 2024 season. He’d just signed a lucrative contract extension with the Chicago Bears, securing his long-term future. He just had the best season of his career in 2023, posting over 1300 yards. Expectations were he’d do more of the same this year. Halfway through the season, the receiver has struggled to find any chemistry with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Things reached a crisis point in Arizona when Moore appeared to walk off the field during a play still in progress while his QB was scrambling to find someone open.
It wasn’t a great look. It was later revealed Moore had rolled his ankle. He is seen limping towards the end of the video. He also may have stepped out of bounds, making him ineligible to catch any passes. However, one person isn’t buying that story for a second. Safety Xavier McKinney has had a personal vendetta against Moore ever since the Bears receiver shrugged off the news that the Green Bay Packers signed him in March. He watched that game against Arizona and made it clear to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic that Moore is a quitter.
“I hope so, but I don’t give a damn about what he knows,” McKinney said. “This dude walked out on … I’ve been playing (NFL) football for five years now and I’ve been watching football for longer than that and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a … You’re supposed to be the guy and you’re just walking off the field. You’re walking off the field on a rookie quarterback that you’ve been praising, so it’s like, that’s a whole other story.”
McKinney isn’t buying Moore’s ankle injury justification, either.
“Cap,” McKinney said. “That’s what I say. Cap.”
Safe to say DJ Moore just had his integrity challenged.
McKinney sounds like he’s out to prove something on Sunday, which, according to history, is rarely a good sign for the Bears. The big question is how Moore will respond to this provocation. There is no subtlety to that statement by the Packers safety. He outright believes the receiver abandoned his quarterback. Both Moore and Williams have denied any such issues between them. Most of their frustrations were directed at the coaching staff and how the entire operation was being run.
Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron has since been fired. Thomas Brown is taking over the job. The hope is that he will install a more sensical passing scheme that will get the ball out of Williams’ hands faster. That should help establish a rhythm, leading to better accuracy. DJ Moore would become the beneficiary of such a development. Whether the Bears can pull it off against a Green Bay team coming off their bye week with a defense ranked 12th overall in the league. We’re about to see how competitive Moore truly is.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
“D.J. Moore signed a 4 year, $110,000,000 contract with the Chicago Bears, including $20,000,000 signing bonus, $81,525,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $27,500,000. In 2024, Moore will earn a base salary of $3,000,000, a signing bonus of $20,000,000 and a workout bonus of $200,000, while carrying a cap hit of $7,200,000 and a dead cap value of $43,650,000.” — Spotrac
I know, DJ — money isn’t everything.
But, it’s a really nice place to start.
@David I hear you, purr, purr, purr. I ROAR! ROAR! ROAR! Evolution has brought us to this point. Natural selection has officially made the Lion superior to the house kitten. Now go sit on Badly Demented 30’s lap. It will grow higher than his IQ.
Just another example in a long line of them: why I never have liked QBs and WRs either on or off the field.
Meh, in that moment he quit. It’s on camera. Own it. Not really much DJ can argue if he is being honest with himself. He let his frustration get the best of him.
Don’t forget they added a top 10 pick WR, Keenan, and Swift which obviously takes targets away.