Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams tapped his helmet, killing the initial play and moving to option No. 2. Receiver DJ Moore stood out to the left in a tight formation. At the snap, he cut across the middle of the field with New York Giants cornerback Dru Phillips in coverage right on his heels.

With the pocket collapsing, Williams tossed a pass toward Moore right at the line to gain. But the throw was low, nearly at Moore’s feet. As he reached for it, Phillips collapsed on top of Moore from behind — driving his left shoulder into the ground.

Moore knew something was wrong, and the broadcast caught a shot of him in obvious pain as he walked to the sideline.

He headed straight for the team’s medical tent. Some 10 minutes later, he emerged from the tent and went to work with an elastic band, trying to loosen up his shoulder. He wound up sitting out the final 11 minutes of the second quarter, and the team announced that his return was questionable.

But after halftime, there was Moore checking back into the game.

After the game, a come-from-behind win over the Giants, asked if he thought he might have to sit out the second half, Moore said, “No, it was never a thought in my head.”

That has become a theme for the 28-year-old receiver, who has missed a total of two games in his career and none since joining the Bears in 2023. With Carolina in 2019, he missed the season finale with a concussion in what was largely a meaningless Week 17 game for the 5-11 Panthers. The following year he missed one game because of COVID-19.

Since then, Moore has appeared in 80 consecutive games (with 79 consecutive starts), including all 17 games in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. That hasn’t been due to any lack of injuries. Moore has battled through hamstring, quad and ankle issues over the years.

Earlier this season a groin injury sent him to the hospital following a Week 6 win over the Washington Commanders. Six days later Moore was back on the field, ready to take on the New Orleans Saints in Week 7.

“He’s got that Wolverine blood,” receiver Rome Odunze said, referencing the Marvel character’s healing powers. “Whenever he gets hurt, he goes down and he’s in pain — and then the next thing you know he’s up and at ’em, trying to get into the game.”

Moore finished last week’s win over the Giants despite the shoulder injury. The injury kept him out of practice Wednesday. Asked Thursday if he planned to play this week in Minnesota, Moore’s response was simply: “Duh.”

On Friday the team said Moore holds no injury designation ahead the matchup with the Vikings.

“I’ve been good to go,” Moore said. “I don’t really need to talk to myself really to make myself go out there and play. I love the game, so I’m just going to go out there.”

‘Love what he’s about’

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore tosses the ball after a reception against the Lions on Dec. 10, 2023, at Soldier Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Moore was one of the centerpieces of the March 2023 trade that sent the No. 1 draft pick to the Panthers. The Bears received two first-round picks, two second-round picks and Moore.

From the outset, Bears general manager Ryan Poles suggested he was interested in more than future draft picks in any trade involving the No. 1 pick.

“There’s scenarios where you could add players as well,” Poles offered up at the 2023 NFL scouting combine.

That proved prescient and the trade netted Moore plus the Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick, which eventually became the No. 1 pick that the Bears used to select Williams.

Moore immediately turned into the Bears’ best playmaker in 2023. He piled up 96 catches for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns in one of the best single-season efforts by a receiver in team history. The Bears rewarded Moore with a four-year, $110 million contract extension ahead of the 2024 season. Poles felt confident enough in Moore that they agreed to that extension with two seasons still remaining on Moore’s deal. That new money doesn’t hit the books until 2026 and will keep him under contract through 2029.

Last year, after the Bears made the switch from Justin Fields to Williams at quarterback, Moore led the team with 98 receptions for 966 yards and totaled six touchdowns. The passing attack struggled overall, but Moore remained the top target despite posting the lowest air yards per target of his career, per NFL Pro.

When the Bears hired Ben Johnson as coach in January, there was quite a bit of curiosity surrounding how the Bears would divvy up roles for the receivers in this offense. That only became more of a question mark after the Bears used a second-round draft pick on Missouri receiver Luther Burden III.

There are always unknowns when a new coach takes over. That includes X’s and O’s, but it also includes the makeup of the team — what the new coach wants his group to look and feel like.

Over the offseason, when Johnson offered up the fact he talked with all his players — including the quarterback — about improving their body language, the internet ran wild with speculation that Johnson’s comments were also pointed at Moore. Some of Moore’s sideline reactions caught people’s attention throughout the 2024 season when the Bears were struggling their way through a 10-game losing streak.

Then, Johnson called out his team after an 0-2 start and mentioned he was unhappy with how certain unnamed players looked when the ball wasn’t in their hands.

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore sits on the bench in the third quarter against the Lions on Sept. 14, 2025, at Ford Field in Detroit. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

“There were some plays yesterday that we weren’t quite as pleased with what that looked like on tape,” Johnson said after a Week 2 loss in Detroit. “So we’re going to find out this week at practice who wants to practice hard and who wants to be a little bit more involved with the game plan here going into Sunday.”

Again, the outside world speculated about whom the coach was talking about, although Johnson made a clear effort not to name names.

Amid all that, Moore got off to a somewhat slow start to the season. He caught just three passes in the opener and after Week 1 his average depth of target failed to hit 10 yards for five consecutive games.

“Those things, they go in cycles, particularly with the perimeter players,” Johnson later said. “It’s hard for me to predict when a guy’s going to have a big game or not out there. You just can’t foresee what coverage you’re going to get every single time. You look to put them in good positions. I say it every week, there’s a healthy amount of the game plan that DJ’s the No. 1 target, Rome, Colston (Loveland), Cole (Kmet), Luther. We kind of cycle through and we make sure that each guy has some plays for him.”

That said, over the last three games Moore has seen his depth of target go way up. He caught four passes for 73 yards against the Baltimore Ravens and followed it up with another four catches for 72 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals. His depth of target averaged 10.8 yards against the Ravens and 13.8 against the Benagls.

Last week the shoulder injury knocked him out for a good chunk of the Giants game, and he didn’t make a catch (snapping a 46-game reception streak), but his depth of target was up to 15.1 yards on his four targets.

The Bears are finally starting to get him the ball downfield.

“The defense dictates a lot of things,” Moore said. “Where the quarterback starts their read and how it reads out when the play is going. It’s all just based off of what we learned (presnap). Progression and the defense got to dictate what we’re doing.”

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore celebrates his touchdown against the Cowboys in the third quarter on Sept. 21, 2025, at Soldier Field. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Moore is third on the team in targets and third with 30 receptions through nine games behind Odunze (37) and veteran Olamide Zaccheaus (32). But the Bears also have worked to manufacture touches for Moore, whom they see as a dangerous yards-after-the-catch player with the ball in his hands. Per NFL Pro, Moore has lined up in the backfield 13 times this season.

“Get him the ball,” receivers coach Antwaan Randle El said. “Very rarely does the first guy make the tackle, which is a big deal. It’s not just making the guys miss, it’s running through the guy.”

Moore’s willingness to do anything and everything is apparent. In Cincinnati he also ran for a touchdown and threw a touchdown pass to Williams on a trick play. In terms of touches, meaning receptions and carries, Moore is first on the team among receivers and tight ends with 42, five more than Odunze. Only the running backs have more.

The Bears clearly want the ball in Moore’s hands.

“I’m very pleased with how DJ’s playing,” Johnson said. “You talk about a guy that comes into work with a smile on his face every single day. He loves football. Love what he’s about right now. I think Randle El and those guys in the receiver room are doing a great job coaching them up and I think he’s providing a great example for a lot of our young players as well.”

‘We need him for the long haul’

Bears wide receiver DJ Moore is tackled by Commanders cornerback Trey Amos, bottom, in the first quarter Oct. 13, 2025, at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

The hospital stay after the Week 6 win over the Commanders was brief, but Moore missed the flight home with the team. He flew back to Chicago the following morning. On the bright side, he was able to fly with his family, so he wasn’t alone.

Within days, though, Moore wanted to be back on the practice field.

“Well, shucks, we had to battle against him to keep him from running to practice,” Randle El said. “We were like, man, look, you need to rest. Let this thing heal. And it was hard.”

When NFL teams play on Sundays, they typically practice Wednesday through Friday in preparation. The Bears have taken a cautious approach to Wednesdays, giving a large number of their playmakers an extra day off, even with minor injuries.

But Moore has never been a big fan of sitting on the sidelines.

“I need the reps — actually,” the eighth-year veteran explained. “At full speed. Whether it’s looks versus the scout team or whether it’s going against the (first-team defense), practice is practice. You need the reps to get (it) down with everybody.”

But the training staff sometimes has to remind him of the bigger picture. If the trainers can’t get Moore to take a seat for an extra day of rest, they might defer to the coaching staff.

“If he’s like, nuh-uh, that’s when we’ve got to get involved,” Randle El said with a laugh.

Odunze also has had each of the last three Wednesdays off as he has battled through ankle and heel injuries. Randle El said the receivers make up for it with some extra film study and mental reps. So far both Moore and Odunze have been good enough to practice on Fridays, which is when the team goes through its final on-field preparations.

“Whenever there’s a piece missing, that might throw the rhythm off at practice just a little bit and he doesn’t want any of that,” Odunze said of Moore. “He makes it a point regardless of how he’s feeling to be able to go out there and practice and make it right.”

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It’s a delicate balance over the course of a 17-game season.

“We need him for the long haul,” Randle El said ahead of the Giants game. “He’s got to realize we have 13 games left, however you want to look at it. So we’ve got to make sure we stay fresh, stay ready to go. But I love his commitment to the game.”

And yes, Randle El is counting every game through Super Bowl LX.

Lost in all the outside noise about body language and usage rates is the plain and simple fact Moore has gutted through multiple injuries this season. That’s the type of thing coaches and teammates notice.

He might be bruised and battered, but Moore’s going to be on the field come Sunday.

“If I can go, I’m going to go,” Moore said. “Even if I’m a little dinged up — or even a lot of dinged up. I’m going regardless.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/15/chicago-bears-dj-moore-injuries/