Bear Digest

What Big Receiver Contracts Say for Bears Future at Position

Analysis: The contracts given Nico Collins and Jaylen Waddle only indicate the squeeze the bears will be facing at wide receiver in the future.

Gene Chamberlain

DJ Moore fights for a reception agianst Detroit. Moore's contract situation in the future can enter into any thought about a deal for Keenan Allen.
DJ Moore fights for a reception agianst Detroit. Moore's contract situation in the future can enter into any thought about a deal for Keenan Allen. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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Any confusion over why the Bears haven't offered a contract extension to wide receiver Keenan Allen should now be clear.

They have something more important to worry about, like figuring out how to pay for a contract extension in 2025 for wide receiver DJ Moore.

It's going to take a big chunk of the salary cap to keep Moore from being a free agent after all the cash being given out to wide receivers. It's only going to get more expensive by then.

First, Nico Collins received a three-year, $72.75 million deal from the Texans. Then Miami's Jaylen Waddle was given a three-year, $84.75 million contract.

Collins went over 481 yards last year for the first time with 1,297 yards and was over 37 catches for the first time with 80 receptions. He had eight TD catches, his first season over two TD catches. And he has a contract averaging $24.25 million, or $3.62 million a year more than the deal Carolina signed Moore to, which is the one the Bears count against their cap.

Waddle has stats slightly better than Moore's while playing for a far better passing team than any of Moore's Carolina or Bears teams. He has averaged 83.7 receptions for three seasons to Moore's 76.7 receptions, 1,128.3 yards to Moore's 1,094.2 yards and six TDs to Moore's 4.83.


The Bears are down to $58.8 million available under the salary cap for 2025 according to Overthecap.com. Slice off another big salary and prorated bonus for a veteran receiver from that amount and it just doesn't work.

It doesn't need to happen when they might have a budding star receiver in Rome Odunze.

The 2025 season will be a contract year for Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker and several other veterans.

Getting a contract extension to a veteran like Allen should be less of a priority than getting one this year to guard Teven Jenkins, should they even want to retain him.

The most recent word on that came from Jenkins in an interview with WSCR's Mark Grote earlier this month.

“We’re going to try to reach out to them here soon, but right now, we’re playing the waiting game," Jenkins said. "I want to be a Bear for a long time. I still do. That has not change since I've been drafted, but we're going to see how things unfold and how things play out and just take it day by day."

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Both Allen and Jenkins are in similar situations in that they need to prove themselves worthy of extensions. It will be easier for Jenkins because of his age and the need for offensive line help.

Allen is a good player to have while Caleb Williams is a rookie but doing anything to retain him beyond one season will become very difficult to manage from cap standpoint.

Even fitting in a one-year extension could become a difficult task at the rate receivers are going for these days.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.