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Parent
Are you really buying a car online on Autotrader right now?
Really? I can get super specific with dealer listings and see cars based on my budget.
You can really have it delivered or pick it up. I think kid is walking up the slide.
Dan Bernstein
Really?
Parent
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Matt Abeticola
I mean if you're a Bears fan, you're thinking Forward progress. Come on. 10219 219Forward progress a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312Sports.
Dan Bernstein
Welcome to a Forward Progress. Thank you for joining us. We were just sitting here going through our regular planning for our Bears show and NFL show and going through the various topics and then the news crosses that the Chicago Bears are trading wide receiver D.J. moore to the Buffalo Bills and that will bring his three year Bears tenure to a conclusion. This has been reported by both ESPN and NFL Network. D.J. moore, 28 years old as a bear. Here are his totals. 50 catches, 682 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2025 in those three seasons. Total 3012 yards, 20 touchdowns, 244 receptions in his 51 games that he played. He had signed a four year 110 million dollar extension two years ago and he had two years remaining on that deal. So that extension was going to hit the books. He was due to cost against the cap 28.5 million. So this frees up according to most reports. As I have it Correct me if I'm wrong, it'll save The Bears about $16.5 million against the cap. And it's just amazing how far this team has come from the moment they got him. And it seemed like this was just going to be an anchor, the go to guy in this offense as it became what it was going to become. How fast his role is this easily handed off to be divided among others.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, not surprised. Obviously we've talked about this. Our guy Frank says a net savings was definitely involved in this one for sure. We talked about the possibility of this happening not only for a salary dump and to free up some cap within the salary cap, some space in the salary cap. But there's a lot of questions about his performance. Now, I know he was involved in some of the greatest plays the Chicago Bears have ever witnessed. We saw those with our own eyes this past season. Yet there was the question marks about his efforts and, and taking plays off and not fully running out routes. And there really was no answers given to in particular what happened in that Rams game in the playoffs. And that route that he just seemed to give up on, that was an interception. So, yeah, I'm not surprised by this. You know, we kind of see it falling into place as the Buffalo Bills have either released or going to release Stefan Diggs. So now the Bears get the free up cap space. And does this coincide with what we talked about earlier today?
Dan Bernstein
I was just thinking that I was just.
Matt Abeticola
Tyler Linder. Linderbaum.
Dan Bernstein
Does this mean you've got Tyler Linderbaum walking around money here? Hey, Tyler, look what we found. Look what we found. Why don't you, you know, pick up the. Maybe it's worth another call to the agent. Hey, remember we were talking about before when you said that we had to find some. Well, we. I don't know what happened, but I just. We just freed up a little bit of money here.
Matt Abeticola
So whether or not what we talked about earlier with that article that you read that, that Tyler Linderbaum could be north of 20 million per, you know, and if.
Dan Bernstein
Likely will be.
Matt Abeticola
Yes, likely will be. And the, the speculation from the, the former agent that you quoted, Joel Corey, said 23.5 million PER.
Dan Bernstein
He said that would be if he were representing him. That would be his expectation.
Matt Abeticola
And so, you know, an hour ago we talked about that and said, well, that's not going to happen for the bears. That's too pricey. 23, 22 million a year, 24 million. That's too much. Now things might look a little bit different by freeing up all that space with the trade of DJ Moore. So DJ Moore traded to the Buffalo Bills and everything I've read so far says a mid round pick in return. So if that's 3, 4, 5 where we at with your thoughts on that? Which is exactly what I thought we would do.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, we, we spent some time discussing that recently and this is primarily a salary move and you are not expecting to get the return value in the way we think about what value is because of this deal and because of we're going to find out exactly who will end up paying what as far as the cash side of it.
Matt Abeticola
And here's the thing too, Dan, we and just add this to the list because we've talked about this all of 2025. It's so nice. It's refreshing for us as Bears fans to not be crazy anymore because what we see with our eyes, we saw the general manager, the head coach, the coaching staff were seeing the same things for the first time in a long, long time in this town we were aligned. If I want to borrow their terminology, we were on the same page. This tells me the Bears and their leadership saw the same things that that we saw with DJ Moore. A lot of talent, a valuable guy, but not a number one guy worth 28 million per year. With the effort that you see in, in games, you know, from one game to the next, from one play to the next, they saw the same things that we saw as Bears fans.
Dan Bernstein
A lot of things can be true here and I do think that it's going to be important how the Bears handle this on the way out. And let me be really clear about this, we can talk about some of these, these the rumblings underneath because we've seen it. Sure. And for us to be straight up and say when you got DJ more, you got all the good and you got some of the question marks too. And you said this guy made Bears history. This guy was the acquisition mattered at the time, his performance mattered, his contribution and he's got all time great Bears moments that that full stop. The team should avoid entirely engaging in any kind of after the fact back channel muttering about this. This is what I don't want to hear. I don't want to hear any whisper campaign of, you know, we kind of had to move him because I don't know if he and Caleb ever saw eye to eye or we were worried there were some plays where maybe we weren't getting the most out of him or he was one of these palms up guys because we'll remember that. We'll remember that. He and, and he was, he admitted it, that when Ben Johnson took over, Ben Johnson pulled him aside and said, your body language sucks and you have to set an example for us and you have to stop being what he calls, you know, a palms up guy. I don't know. Woe is me. What keeps happening to us. And, and to DJs credit, he was open about that. DJs been available after wins and losses. He has been open and honest. I, I have nothing bad to say about him as a Bear. Nothing. Only good. Even though we can, no player's perfect and we can observe the things that maybe were question marks in his game. But the Bears have to take the absolute high road on this. 100%.
Matt Abeticola
No, you're 100% correct.
Dan Bernstein
And I, I, that's, that's my expectation. I expect absolutely nothing but the high road here. Because you're right. When you are this serious a team and when you're making a move like this to try to win Super Bowls, and that's what this is, this is the move that you make. Not to just placate fans, not to, not to worry fans who bought their DJ Moore jerseys that are on sale at Dick's Sporting Goods and all that stuff. This is, this is the tough kind of call that you make when you're trying to win Super Bowls.
Matt Abeticola
No, you're, you're correct. And the way the Bears should approach it and will approach it is exactly how you said, because they, they gain nothing from doing that. We can do that as fans and we will.
Dan Bernstein
And that's our job.
Matt Abeticola
It's there and it's our job to do that and to do that on this particular program. But the Bears don't need to do that. It benefits them nothing. But it's very clear that guy should have never been your highest paid player on your team. And I know Caleb Williams eventually will be, but DJ Moore should not have been. He did not put enough production out there regardless of all the great plays that he made, because he did make some great plays. And I'm going to remember the good things about DJ Moore. I will never forget though, when I, when I realized this past season that this was the first time he was ever on a winning team, which is just crazy, crazy to me. Nothing to do against him. That's, I'm not saying that, oh, all teams lose with DJ Moore. It just, he's a, he's a world class talent and has great hands. He just wasn't there all the Time.
Dan Bernstein
Well, let's look at the room right now. As it stands at the moment, your wide receiver room for the Chicago Bears is in no particular order Roma Dunes, A Luther Burden, Olama Days, a Kias, Devin DuVernay and Jade Walker.
Matt Abeticola
All right. DuVernay and, and Oz. Will they, will they be free agents next Wednesday? They're not under contract, are they? I'd have to take a look.
Dan Bernstein
They are currently.
Matt Abeticola
Let's maybe I'm wrong on that but I, I thought they were. They were done. I, I thought your, I thought your wide receiver room was Walker, Luther and Rome.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, well these, these names are in green and that means they are UFAs. They are unrestricted free agents in in Zacchaeus and Duvernay. My guess is I don't know if if now you can rethink punt return or kick returner and as you are remodeling this room, what that's going to open up for some of the possibilities draft wise and free agent wise. My guess is it's a, it's usually a nice position where you've got a pretty good handle free agent wise on what's out there and who's a good fit and I would love to improve the kick return game and make it more explosive. I know duvernay was reliable as a fielder of kicks and decision maker and hit a couple big ones. I'd like to make that more explosive.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I agree. I agree. And that possibilities out there and we'll see how they do address that. I would likely think they look at that as a lower tier free agent spend or through the draft to build up that room. I love that they're building a young wide receiver room. I love it. I love that it's a young wide receiver room right now. I don't anticipate them spending a lot of money on a free agent to bring in a veteran wide receiver that's going to be again a lower tier guy or through the draft. But I love the idea of going out and getting a young center in your guy Linderbaum. If this, if that's the move, if that's what corresponds to what dumping DJ Moore's salary is all about getting that guy to grow with Caleb Williams and a young wide receiver room to grow with that quarterback.
Dan Bernstein
We should also mention a couple other names. There's no practice squad that exists at the moment because of where we are in the league year. But, but the what represents that are the players signed to reserve futures contracts and there's two names that appeared at various times on the back end of the roster last year, those being maurice Alexander and J.P. richardson. So those are some names to keep in mind also. And the fact that Colston Loveland is. Should be looked at when it comes to deployment targets, usage, essentially as a wide receiver, despite the fact that he's listed as a tight end.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, agreed, agreed. Which is why I also don't anticipate anything happening with Cole Comet. But I could be wrong on that. I think Cole commit's there because you need him more as part of the, an extension of blocking and the occasional, you know, catching. But that's why you have Loveland, therefore. But I think Cole Comet's not going to, you know. Cause we talked about Cole Comet. Does anything happen with him to make a move for, for salary relief as well too? But I don't anticipate that happening.
Dan Bernstein
They've got something in mind. A move like this is made to make another move There, there. When we say, gee, what's the corresponding move? What's going to happen next? They're way ahead of us. Those negotiations have already begun. It is possible, and I know I played this out just sort of for fun, but it is possible that there are deals out there that agents are. Even though we're not in the official tampering period yet, there are ways of getting understandings from agents about what certain numbers are going to be, what it's going to take, what the estimations are for ballparks, and it may just be not just to say, hey, let's get as much cap space as we can and then figure out what to do. They're, they're into specifics saying that we're going to need this amount of money to sign this guy. We just don't know who those guys are yet.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I wonder if it will be your guy, Linder Baum.
Dan Bernstein
Could be. It's exciting to think, you know, as
Matt Abeticola
we talked about that yesterday with Carmen Vitale here on Forward Progress, and I asked the question, you know, do you want to go veteran guy, center and rookie draft pick left tackle or veteran left tackle, rookie center? And without a doubt, it was like bring in that, that experienced veteran guy at center and then you can work with someone through the draft at left tackle or, you know, work with Theo Benedict to see if, if that's a possibility to coach him up. Now, if you were to go that free agent route with Linderbaum, yeah, it's going to cost you a lot of money. But this is, like I said, this, this is the move you make to Free up that kind of money because those talks have already started taking place.
Dan Bernstein
Well, and the other thing that's really exciting about this for those of us who have been ur Luther Burden. More Luther Burden. Get him more involved. Every time he touches the ball, it isn't just your eye test. There are metrics that show how he affects games in an outsized way. When he touches the ball, they know it, they see it. They're watching the same games we're watching. The end if I don't know if there are fantasy futures that you can, you can start betting on on guys. But Luther Burden is in position if he's healthy to have himself a breakout bear season.
Parent
Are you really buying a car online on Autotrader right now?
Really?
At a playground?
Yeah, really. Look at these listings from dealers.
Matt Abeticola
Wow.
Parent
Your search can really get that specific.
Really?
And you just put in your info and boom. Cars in your budget.
Mom needs a second.
Honey, you can really have it delivered.
Really? Or I can pick it up at the dealership. One sec, sweetie. Mommy's buying a car.
Matt Abeticola
Mommy, look.
Parent
I think you kid is walking up the slide, Kyle.
Matt Abeticola
Again?
Tammy (Geico Subconscious News)
Really?
Parent
Autotrader. Buy your car online. Really?
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Matt Abeticola
Trying to find here I think starting to see maybe fourth round pick.
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
Matt Abeticola
DJ Moore. Now we were just told initially it's a mid round pick.
Dan Bernstein
Yes. It may be conditional. You had absolutely. And look at this. It may just be that what we speculated came true. That the retirement of Dahlman, whether or not it's directly to replace Dahlman but just changing the math in that regard forced this deal that this absolutely. The maintenance and retention of of salary cap flexibility became paramount in a way that that it where it hadn't hit home quite the same way before.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. Where a casualty of the Dahlman retirement is was the was forcing of this trade could be. It's very possible. Very possible. So you know it's I'd like to think that with the news of Dahlman, they make this move to, to, to answer that question of who will be the center through free agency. And you know, Tyler, Tyler Linderbaum would be a great answer to that. Now it just, it goes to another question, and we talked about this earlier as well too, that the odds on favorite that you keep seeing is Max Crosby going to the Bears. Do you want to see the Bears trade that draft capital now to bring in a veteran, experienced edge rusher in Max Crosby? Are you willing to part with a couple first round picks or a first round pick and a third round pick and a pick next year to bring in Max Crosby?
Dan Bernstein
It seems to be two firsts and. But somebody else would have to engage to that because what was, what was Parsons.
Matt Abeticola
Parsons was two firsts.
Dan Bernstein
Right?
Matt Abeticola
And first.
Dan Bernstein
And Kenny Clark. Yeah.
Matt Abeticola
And a player and a body.
Dan Bernstein
Right. Yeah. So that's a, that's a, that's a big number for one dude who could be hurt in the first week. You know, the same thing that they experience with Parsons. I just worry about a 30 year player and downside risk and injury risk and I love those picks, man.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I do too.
Dan Bernstein
I trust the people making the picks in a way that I didn't before.
Matt Abeticola
That you never have before. And did you see the story from Michael Silver about Max Crosby? One of the, one of the issues that the previous Raiders head coaches all had with Max Crosby and it wasn't just Antonio Pierce and it wasn't just Pete Carroll and who was there after Jon Gruden, I can't remember, wasn't there another guy after Gruden? But anyway, whoever it was, Michael Silver wrote that the head coaches had an issue with Max Crosby in practice hitting the guy in the red jersey, merchandise
Dan Bernstein
going to get touched.
Matt Abeticola
But like you're not supposed to hit the quarterback. And he kept hitting the quarterback. And I guess his response in the story that Silver wrote was, well, if you don't mean to hit the quarterback, then block me. Which, you know, I don't know. You know, he kind of, he kind of echoed it as a, as kind of a rogue kind of player, not doing, you know, not listening to the coaches, doing his own thing. I don't know if that's an accurate portrayal of who he is, but if he's going through a practice hitting the quarterback and just saying if this is true, well then someone should block me. That's kind of shitty. And that's, that's, that doesn't work.
Dan Bernstein
Wasn't It James Harrison on the Bengals on Hard Knocks when he was hitting A.J. green. Is that who it was? And they. And no. Was it. I think that's who it was. And it was Jay Gruden came up to him, was like, hey, don't, don't, don't touch the merchandise. And they looked right at him because merchandise gonna get touched.
Matt Abeticola
Well, it's. It's funny when it's a different team, but I don't want my guy hitting Caleb Williams for.
Dan Bernstein
No. The cameras are right there, and Jake Earner's like.
Matt Abeticola
Then he's walked away with his tail between his legs.
Dan Bernstein
What are you gonna say to James Harrison? The guy's gonna eat your head. Well, don't do that. He's gonna do horrible things to you. That is a serious man out there. I don't like hearing that about Crosby. Or maybe it's one of these apocryphal things that now is. Yeah, maybe, because a lot of the stuff. Now people are messing with trade values and they want to put stuff out of the ether to get it repeated. So I don't know what. I generally don't believe stuff like that, but Michael Silver is not. Is generally not one of those people to do stuff like that. He's a little more trustworthy than most.
Matt Abeticola
All right, let me ask you this. On the heels of the Bears trading DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills, let me ask you a few different questions about some possible scenarios for. For this Bears off season, what do you think is more likely to happen? Of all these different scenarios, what's more likely to happen? The Bears repeat draft class success like they had in 2025. Okay, that's one option.
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
Matt Abeticola
Another option is the Bears are able to coach up the guys in their building to be successful. And I might. And by that I mean Theo Benedict, Luke Newman at center at left tackle. Okay. That's the second option. A third scenario could be trade away draft capital for Max Crosby, and he ends up being in the top three edge rushers in the league. And from a production standpoint, a fourth scenario is you sacrifice other needs and you sign a center or an edge rusher that end up being top three in their position.
Dan Bernstein
If you could guarantee me a top three center at their position, I'm taking it.
Matt Abeticola
And you're taking Tyler.
Dan Bernstein
I think. I think that Linderbaum. Yeah, I. Well, whatever. Whatever. By that scenario, I am. I am taking. If you're saying actually a top three center, so.
Matt Abeticola
So center X. Let's just say center X. Sure, we will.
Dan Bernstein
Unnamed center X. And you guarantee that that person is healthy.
Matt Abeticola
Yes. They play all 17 regular season games. Now, let's say that you sign that center and. And I know we're not. I'm not saying that pff is, you know, end all. Be all of things, but they graded out Drew Dahlman last year as the eighth best center in the game.
Dan Bernstein
And you're telling me this year you get the third.
Matt Abeticola
Now let's say that. Let's say you sign a guy, you sign center X and he ends up being a top five center. Are you still making that commitment?
Dan Bernstein
Yes.
Matt Abeticola
Let's say he's a top eight center and he gives you the same production you saw from Drew Dahlman.
Dan Bernstein
If I'm guaranteed a top eight center.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
Because I think some of that stuff is a little.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, yeah.
Dan Bernstein
If you're guaranteeing me that I've got
Matt Abeticola
somebody 17 games, a guy that grades out top eight.
Dan Bernstein
I think I just. I can't be the same person that has talked about the importance of the center position in the modern NFL and in a Ben Johnson offense and not say yes to that.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I agree. Because I'm thinking through it. I think if I'm guaranteed.
Dan Bernstein
I'm afraid to disagree. I might be crazy.
Matt Abeticola
No, no, no, because here's my thought. If I'm. If I'm guaranteed top eight, say he's performs top eight as a center and it's a big, big money commitment on my end. And I know I get 17 games and he's there. I take that with a slight pause. If I say top five, I do it. If I say top three, I can't get it done fast enough.
Dan Bernstein
Well, okay, so let me argue against my point.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
And if I were arguing the other side of it, I would say that all in is all in. And trusting the Bears development staff to say, trusting this coaching staff in their anticipation of future use and deployment growth, et cetera. And our trust level is that high. Somebody could accuse me of saying, you know, pick a lane, then picks should be. Should have less value. If you're. If they think they're closer than we may think they are to winning a Super Bowl. And it may just be that they sat around and they're like, you know what? We could have won the super bowl this year. We did a whole show on it where they said that could have been us. You know, maybe. Maybe Seattle would have beaten us nine times out of 10, but that could have been the one. And next year, maybe it's five out of 10 that this was the year that proved how close the Bears are. And maybe if the response is, fuck it, we're right there, and they do that and they. And they. And they. First round picks are for rebuilding teams. We're not rebuilding anymore. We're plugging in. We've. Our team is on the field for the most part. We've got our guys. I don't think that's an unreasonable position. Just because, remember, I'm much, much, much more conservative about some of those things because I worry easily. I don't have the risk tolerance that others have. And that's probably what. Look, every billionaire has a higher risk tolerance than I do because they can deal with. They're gamblers. They can deal with risking so many things. I'm bad at that and I admit to being that. So may, if you're saying, you know what, who cares about these, these first round picks that could end up being anything, or these lottery tickets or whatever, that they've got enough, God damn it, go for it. And that's. And that's okay.
Matt Abeticola
It is okay. And I don't know how this would work out salary wise, but just because. Let's say they go on and get. Let's put names on it, that they, they go out and they sign Tyler Linda. Yeah. At center. They bring him in big money. Let's say it's 23 and a half million per year. I don't know how it affects the salary cap. Let's say that they. You can still trade away draft capital to bring in a guy like Max Crosby. You can do both. Now, I don't know what that does to your salary cap. I don't know what it does to the future. I don't know what it does to signing more guys this year. But just because you do one, doesn't mean you can't do the other. Right now, are you more confident in Linderbaum coming in at a big price tag? Are you more confident in his success than Max Crosby coming in and being as productive a player on the defensive side of the football while giving up two first round picks at a minimum?
Dan Bernstein
It's hard to compare because it is an offensive lineman is in is more control perhaps because of what he can do that matters before the play even starts.
Matt Abeticola
There.
Dan Bernstein
There's so much value. You know, I understand a pass rusher. You are lined up, you got smoke coming out of your nose and. And go kill the quarterback.
Matt Abeticola
Right.
Dan Bernstein
And on the way to the quarterback, if there's another guy in front of you with the ball, take the ball from him. And score. Jump up in the air if you don't get there. I understand. But a center who's really, really good is. It's part of your quarterbacking system. It's part of everything. It's the first fulcrum of your blocking. It is the person in charge of identifying your. Your front, identifying the mic and then understanding which way the protection is going. All of that value, some of that doesn't show up in these PFF rankings. It just. It's impossible to quantify some of that ability, that if it's a fourth quarter and the wind is whipping around and you're down four and there's 37 seconds left and you got the ball in your own 41 and the quarterback is in a better position to go win that game because you're there instead of somebody else. I don't know how to measure that, but I know it matters to me.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. So for me, if I'm looking at both scenarios and I'm only picking one because I'm not. I'm not doing both. I don't want to sign Linderbaum to a huge deal and then trade draft capital to bring in Max Crosby. I'd rather sign Linderbaum because I'm more confident in his success for years to come than I am in Max Crosby for years to come.
Dan Bernstein
And the other thing I don't want to do, it's draft capital or money money, not both. Right.
Matt Abeticola
I 100% agree with you.
Dan Bernstein
The resources. You don't double down on your costs.
Matt Abeticola
Right.
Dan Bernstein
You can. And that's one thing where a draft pick is just a draft pick, and you use that draft pick, where you get yourself in trouble. And where the. Where the. Go for it gets you in trouble is giving up a bunch of draft picks and committing a ton of money,
Matt Abeticola
spending a ton of money for somebody
Dan Bernstein
who's 30 years old.
Matt Abeticola
I am. I am all about spending the money on Linder Baum at center and then using my draft picks to build up the rest of my team, whether that's left tackle, defensive line safety. That's what I'm all about. Using those resources to trust your coaching staff, to coach up guys you bring in. Like what happened last year in 2025, one of the best draft classes in football.
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Dan Bernstein
All right, wait a second. Here's the latest. Diana Rossini. The Bears are sending DJ Moore and a five. Buffalo for a two. Wow. Yeah. Now that changes things a little bit.
Matt Abeticola
DJ Moore and a five for a
Dan Bernstein
two for a two. Okay. That's pretty damn good. That's better than I thought they were going to get. I did not think they were going to end up with a. With another two. Okay. This one's hard to argue with. I don't know if there's some sort of.
Matt Abeticola
There was no argument to begin with. I mean, even, even, you know, D.J. moore to get a, to get a three or a four. I'm not, I'm not upset about that because again, there was the salary cap implication that was behind it. That was the lead to it. Now you're adding, you're, you're adding a fifth round pick going to Buffalo to get a two. So now are the, are the Bears building draft capital to move up?
Dan Bernstein
I don't know.
Matt Abeticola
Is that something to trade?
Dan Bernstein
I don't know.
Matt Abeticola
As far as for a body is concerned, I want to see them keep these draft picks. Dan, if you did, if you just added a second round pick, now you have, you have three picks in the top 64. I'm in.
Dan Bernstein
Okay.
Matt Abeticola
I want those picks. I want to spend the money on center and I want those picks. And I want a left. I'm still not getting off left tackle.
Dan Bernstein
Don't.
Matt Abeticola
I want a left tackle. Don't tell me you're going to coach guys up. You got guys in the building. I don't want those guys. I want a guy. You told me last year in the Rams game that you didn't have a left tackle in your building and you moved your guard. Go get a left tackle. Coach that guy up. Build that guy up and then give me that star center with money. Use the draft picks.
Dan Bernstein
Yep. It is. It's official now. Adam Schefter has it. Adam Schefter has it. That Buffalo gets D.J. moore in a 2026 fifth round pick. Chicago gets a 2026 second round pick. Damn. All right. This will become official on March 11, but this is a done deal.
Matt Abeticola
Wow. All right, Bears fans. Yeah. The Bears send D.J. moore in a fifth round pick to Buffalo for a second round draft pick.
Dan Bernstein
Okay, okay.
Matt Abeticola
So it's interesting, Dan, you talked about, you know, fuck it, go for it. You know, these are just draft picks. Fuck it, go for it. You're right there. So what team has, has employed that philosophy for the last several years? The Los Angeles Rams.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Famously. Less famously. And Sean McVeigh.
Matt Abeticola
Let's fuck it. So here's what they did. I just, I looked real quick at this. And this is super interesting, Dan. So in, in 2016 is when it all began.
Dan Bernstein
This was.
Matt Abeticola
That was before McVeigh got there. But that was when they traded away. They traded up to get Jared Goff. So they traded away picks to get Jared Goff. So listen to this. In nine seasons, they have used one first round pick with Sean McVay. In nine seasons, one first round pick. They've gone to the playoffs seven times. The Super bowl, twice they've won one. They've had two seasons of those nine with less than 10 wins. They had a nine win season and a five win season. But they've had seven seasons of 10 plus wins gone to the playoffs seven times. The Super bowl, twice they've won 1 Super Bowl. So in 2016, they traded with the Titans. They gave the Titans 15, 43, 45, 76, a first round pick in 17 and a third round pick in 17 to which they got Jared Goff, number one. They also got the 113th pick in 2016, which they traded that to the Bears. So they even took that pick and traded to get more picks. And the Bears took Nick Kwatkowski with that. Right. They also took 177, they took to Merrick Hemingway, a tight end. And then with those two picks they got from the Bears, they drafted Pharaoh Cooper and Mike Thomas, guys that didn't turn out to much of anything. Now the Titans though, the Titans, they took that, that number 15 and they traded that and number 76 to Cleveland. They moved up to eight and they got Jack Conklin. And then with 43, they drafted Austin Johnson. With 45, the Titans drafted Derrick Henry. So in 2017, the Rams didn't have a first round pick. In 2018, they traded number 23 and a six round pick to New England for Brandon Cooks. That fourth round pick, they traded that down to get more picks, they traded that to Carolina and got two more late round picks. In 2019, they traded number 31 and number 203 overall to Atlanta for number 45 and number 79.
Dan Bernstein
And they're still good.
Matt Abeticola
They took that, number 45, they traded that to New England and they got picks number 56 and 101. They continually trade down to get to add picks. In 2020, they traded the number 20 overall pick to the Jaguars for Jalen Ramsey. Also traded their 2021 first round pick. So they didn't have a pick in 21 either. And in 2022, they traded it to Detroit for Matthew Stafford to get Jared Goff. The Lions then use their picks to move up and get Jameson Williams. 2024 is their only pick they made, which was Jared verse. And then 2025, they traded last year number 26 to Atlanta, and Atlanta took Terence Ferguson. So again, I mean, nine seasons they've used one draft pick. They've had seven, seven playoff appearances. They've won the super bowl twice. They've won one.
Dan Bernstein
What is that again? If you have the coach and you have the quarterback, you can figure things out in other ways.
Matt Abeticola
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
If you have the coach and you
Matt Abeticola
have the quarterback now, saying all that. I'm not saying that. That's what I want the Bears, I'm not advocating for the Bears to trade these picks. I want them to use these picks. I want to see what they can do for a second season with bringing in a rookie draft class. What can they do with the picks this year? Now, is it, is it likely that you're going to see as much success that you take? You take rookies and bring them in and they end up being the best rookies at their positions? It's most likely not going to happen. But I want to see what they can do on the defensive side of the football. I want to see what they can do in drafting a left tackle.
Dan Bernstein
Well, you also have your top defensive draft pick who didn't play last year coming back.
Matt Abeticola
Right.
Dan Bernstein
And tomorrow, Turner.
Matt Abeticola
Correct. And again, you're, you're, Again, we've said this. You're adding by subtracting Andrew Billings on the defensive line as well, too.
Dan Bernstein
There's this tweet by Albert Breer, Albert Breer says. Meanwhile, the Bears have cleared a bunch of cap room this week with Drew Dahlman retiring and D.J. moore traded. We'd mentioned earlier that they've shown some interest in Tyler Linderbaum and Max Crosby. Stay tuned.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, just because you do one doesn't mean you can't do both. I just, I don't want to do both. And maybe I'm an idiot and maybe there are, you know, people in our community here are saying that's stupid. If you can get both guys, get both guys and go for a Super bowl this year, I think if you add Tyler Linderbaum at center and you add it left tackle and then you add other defensive pieces that you need and resign guys that you need to resign or sign free agents on the defensive side of the football. I think the Bears can still compete for a Super bowl this year without Max Crosby. That's the point.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, I don't think there's any question.
Matt Abeticola
So I don't want to trade all that capital and spend all that money when I think I can still do it by just spending the money.
Dan Bernstein
Let's just see here. This is, this becomes really, really interesting now. But I love the idea that we're not just sort of whistling in the wind here. That there are moves that we can clearly see should be made to try to get the be to the next level and they're. And they're doing it and they're not waiting around. These are, these are decisive moves and they end up with a second that is that, that, that's a hell of a return. So all good. I think. I think that for something that we thought could happen and maybe thought would happen for it to even end up being surprisingly positive, I think it's a good sign. I think it's really important now how they. They handle themselves in the wake of this departure. I will rem DJ Moore not only is the guy that, that makes the catch in one of the biggest games of the last 20 years or more, but is then on the post game show wearing the cheese grater hat. Grading cheese.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, for sure. I know as we have. We, we went special live here which is great. So thanks for being a part of our live stream right now. See all the, all the people in all the comments. We do appreciate that, you know, when there is breaking news, we, we do go live, of course during the season. We go live after every, every games. We do live post game shows which have been a lot. We're a lot of fun last year. So keep that in mind as you look forward to the 2026 season. I don't want to just end yet though, because I know there was a couple other things. There was one other thing I wanted to get to and I know you wanted to get to Aaron Rodgers as well.
Dan Bernstein
I just want to get to something. Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, that's fine.
Matt Abeticola
No, let's do it. Yeah, we got people here. Let's do it.
Dan Bernstein
All right. Well, Aaron Rodgers is now upset about being living his life publicly. That he. Aaron Rodgers, it's. All of the attention is bothering him. He doesn't want people paying attention to him. He was on with Pat McAfee yesterday. And the paparazzi are now bothering Aaron Rodgers. He says he can't live in a Malibu house on the beach. He can't go to his gym just because he says he's getting stalked. And we are not living at the beach anymore. Flying drones over my house. There's a bounty on getting a picture of my wife. I understand the attention that comes with someone that's accomplished what I've accomplished. In no way am I making this a Woe is me.
Matt Abeticola
Oh, that's right. Because the whole. The marriage thing was all secretive and like, we don't know who the wife is, although she's like some spiritualist or.
Dan Bernstein
It's not the witch.
Matt Abeticola
No, it's not the. Oh, that's right. It's not the witch.
Dan Bernstein
No, no, that was.
Matt Abeticola
He was dating her.
Dan Bernstein
He was dating Blue of Earth, who was the witch, but he moved on from Blue of Earth. And so he says, when it comes to your personal safety, it's not just me, it's me. And her grammar's all over the place. And he says it's really fucking bizarre. Okay? He said when he. When he's done with football, he's not going to be in the spotlight. We're not living a public life.
Matt Abeticola
Good.
Dan Bernstein
We're not going to go now. Not in the future, but when this is done, it's Keyser Soze and you won't see me. Said, all that's known about Roger Wife. All that. Oh, he's. Come on. All that's known is her name is Brittany. B R I T T A N I Spears. He said, when we met, I knew there was something crazy special and I wanted to be with her. She'd make funny comments like, I'd never live in Green Bay and I don't want to be a player's wife. She's just not a public person. Okay? Aaron Rodgers, if he's promising that he's gonna turn into Greta Garbo and wants to be alone and away he's going to go. We'll never see him again. He's going to live that secretive, private existence. And some people can do it. Some people are great. You know, Gene Hackman sort of decided to do that when he retired from acting. Shelley Duvall did that. A lot of people do that. I will bet you he doesn't. And he has no desire to guarantee it.
Matt Abeticola
100%. 100%. And if you're just joining us here on our live stream on ford progress. And three, one, two, sports. The Bears did trade D.J. moore and a fifth round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills for a second round pick in exchange. And now that I see that second round pick on my notes here, Dan, I want those damn picks from Atlanta Falcons.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, right. Give us the thirds now.
Matt Abeticola
That's what I want.
Dan Bernstein
Give us those third round picks and we already got this second. Just kind of say, hey, yeah, make another phone call.
Matt Abeticola
One, one and another. I won three threes. I won five. I won five in the, in the first three rounds.
Dan Bernstein
I want, I want Ryan Polls in his office in like workout shorts and a tank top, just picking up various phones. I want to tell them, buffalo, we're not doing this on a second round pick.
Matt Abeticola
Fine.
Dan Bernstein
All right, Call the NFL. Get me the NFL. Get me those thirds, too.
Matt Abeticola
While we're at it, picking up phones that aren't even connected.
Dan Bernstein
And my phones around go directly to my fourths.
Matt Abeticola
One other, one other story I want to mention. I don't know if you saw this about Miles Garrett, who got his ninth speeding ticket since entering the league in 2017. Do you see this?
Dan Bernstein
Yes. And I have an idea for this. We're going to have a race, any kind of race that they want. It's going to be miles Garrett and LaMelo Ball, because you've heard the stories about LaMelo Ball and his various Lamborghinis and whatever he has where he, he leaves the arena and doesn't care and like, drives over people and things and animals. It has no regard for stop signs or traffic lights or laws of any kind. So it is the. It, it Is Miles Garrett vs. LaMelo Ball. Pick the various events they can do.
Matt Abeticola
Well, that's a, that's a different angle. The, you know, he did get one ticket for going 100 in the 60. He was going 65 and a 45. That's when he flipped his car over. I was just going to take it in the way because I love watching the guy play stop driving and get a driver or stop driving like an idiot because I don't want you to die, because that's how this story is going to end. It's going to end one of those tragic things where it's like, you know, after midnight, you know, Miles Garrett flipped his car over because he was driving like an asshole. And that. That's it. Then he's gone. Like, don't, don't do that. Like, I get it's fun to drive fast, but be smart. Like, yeah, the driving tickets clearly don't matter to you because you're famous. You're not going to get lose your license or you just keep driving. It doesn't matter. You got money to get out of it. It's the flipping of the car and the dying of the thing, and I don't want to see.
Dan Bernstein
That's why, that's why you're wiser than I. I tried to make a joke about it and I could have just said, well, I don't. And now you make me feel bad.
Matt Abeticola
Well, I didn't want to make you feel bad.
Dan Bernstein
I liked my idea.
Matt Abeticola
Your idea was fine.
Dan Bernstein
And you know, okay, all right.
Matt Abeticola
No, I don't mind your idea. Your idea is fine. Like if it's a controlled course and there's no people and there's no fine, I can do that.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. If he gets this is in his system and, and look, I, I drive fast. I do not obey the actual speed limits. I'm always a little bit over unless there's a camera there. And I look at the speed cameras in Chicago as a personal affront to me. And it's a tax basically that I pay, especially where I live.
Matt Abeticola
And so like, how fast over the speed? Let's say you're at a 40. How fast are you going?
Dan Bernstein
Which it depends where we are. If it's Lakeshore Drive.
Matt Abeticola
Okay, that's like the Autobahn. Yeah. So that's like.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Lakeshore drive is technically 40. If you go 40, you're an right.
Matt Abeticola
So I, which is true. I, I, I, When I have people in the car, I drive the speed limit.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, different. I mean, not the actual speed limit. You go five miles an hour over, 10 over.
Matt Abeticola
Maybe that's the action at the most with, with people in the car. But if I'm alone and depending on where I am at in town or whatnot, if I'm going through like, like downtown Libertyville, on Milwaukee Avenue, I go the speed limit. But if I'm outside of that, yeah, I'm going 10 or 15 over. If I'm by myself, people in the car. I always drive the speed limit.
Dan Bernstein
Sometimes.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, generally I, I shoot for 83 strangles. You're right.
Dan Bernstein
I generally, yeah, you get me on Lakeshore Drive and the right song comes on. Lately it's been that if you heard that song by Rat Boys, Chicago Band, Rat Boys. There's song. I don't know what the title is
Matt Abeticola
on the country station.
Dan Bernstein
It is not okay, but they've got it. They've got a new song out, like a power pop song called any going anywhere that you're going whatever that is that song with that refrain. It's great.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. And if you're driving on LSD and you get to go 70, then you're not driving when I'm driving on LSD. Because there's usually traffic.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah, but you got to know how to manage some traffic.
Matt Abeticola
Sometimes there's not. Not the traffic. Because sometimes when I've driven into the station, I've. I've gone. You know where I get on Lakeshore Drive to come through, and it's a parking lot. You're not going 70. No. You never know, man.
Dan Bernstein
I got all kinds of tricks up my sleeve.
Matt Abeticola
Well, if you're going 70, I don't want to know what lane you're using.
Dan Bernstein
I can show you all kinds of stuff.
Matt Abeticola
Anyway, my point with Miles Garrett was just, please stop.
Dan Bernstein
Slow down.
Matt Abeticola
I mean, like, I like watching you play football. Like, we don't need some tragic accident of Miles Garrett found dead after he flipped his car.
Dan Bernstein
Hire a driver.
Matt Abeticola
Stop driving like that.
Dan Bernstein
Dude hire. And same goes for lamelo ball. While you're at it. I'll make me feel better.
Matt Abeticola
Hey. Okay. Lamello ball like a moron. We'll set up a race.
Dan Bernstein
Stop ignoring all the laws that exist in Charlotte. And when you leave the game, you know, stop it at. At red lights.
Matt Abeticola
We should set up. We can do, like, a 3, 1, 2 race. We can get Michael Jordan, his team involved. And, you know, because I think his driver is, like, winning everything in nascar, apparently.
Dan Bernstein
Oh, I thought you made. I mean, any of us who've been on the Edens have. Have. Have been. Seen the Jordan blow by before.
Matt Abeticola
Oh, did I ever tell you about
Dan Bernstein
the time I've had him? I had him almost. Jordan. Almost took my mir off.
Matt Abeticola
Oh, seriously. Oh, yeah, I almost. Did I ever tell you when Steve Kerr's wife almost hit me at a Venture parking lot?
Dan Bernstein
Margot.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah, I was walking in the parking lot.
Dan Bernstein
You never do that on purpose.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah. And the car. I mean, it kill. It stopped, like, inches from, like, taking my legs out.
Dan Bernstein
I almost killed Jerry Krause.
Matt Abeticola
With your car or.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Driving back because he was in this. His big, giant Cadillac, and he's got that weird hat on, and. And I was, you know, doing what I usually do, and I'm just, you know, trying to. Trying to find my way to the front of the pack, you know, as we get out of the yellow flag and I'm, you know, trying to maneuver my way, and I almost. I almost, you know, send him off into a. Off the road. You know that Cadillac horn. Yes, that Weird sounding like harmonic horn.
Matt Abeticola
I like this, this comment here. Income based ticketing. I like that.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah. Make it hurt at all.
Matt Abeticola
Yes.
Dan Bernstein
Make it hurt.
Matt Abeticola
Yeah.
Dan Bernstein
You can just look up somebody's most recent tax return and then it generates a fine.
Matt Abeticola
Oh yeah. Shugo says didn't end well for Hackman. You mentioned Gene Hackman going away privately.
Dan Bernstein
Well, I mean he was a hundred. It didn't.
Matt Abeticola
Was he that old? But it didn't end well, though.
Dan Bernstein
Well, it doesn't end well for any of us. It always ends badly. But it was great for a while.
Matt Abeticola
It may not always end, but that doesn't have to end badly. It ends. It always ends, but it doesn't.
Dan Bernstein
Yeah.
Matt Abeticola
Necessarily have to end badly.
Dan Bernstein
He took the off the grid thing kind of to an extreme. Yeah. Like he didn't even have people doing wellness checks on, on his. Him and his wife. I don't know if there were people, somebody like delivering Chipotle or something, but you know, you got to have certain things.
Matt Abeticola
All right. The Chicago Bears traded D.J. moore and a fifth round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills, all right. In exchange for a second round pick in 2026.
Dan Bernstein
Thank you for joining us here on a special live edition of Forward progress. Bernstein Nevada Cola. 312 sports.
Matt Abeticola
Yes, that is correct.
Dan Bernstein
Three one. Man, you didn't have it loaded, you
Matt Abeticola
know, because it's on a different screen. It's on a different screen.
Dan Bernstein
Dude, I nailed that.
Matt Abeticola
You didn't nail. Because the outro. You didn't nail anything. You said some words. Danny talks. That's all you did. Shut your mouth.
Dan Bernstein
All right? Right. The better the better. Out.
Matt Abeticola
Say it finishes that.
Dan Bernstein
Shut your mouth, bitch.
Parent
Bye.
Matt Abeticola
Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 312 Sports.
Tammy (Geico Subconscious News)
From Geico Subconscious News, I'm Tammy. Racing thoughts broadcasting from your brain. Tonight's top wor. If something happens to your apartment and you need to like stay in a hotel and pay for it, that would be crazy.
Dan Bernstein
Right?
Tammy (Geico Subconscious News)
Art Palpitations has more.
Dan Bernstein
That would be crazy, Tammy. But you got surprisingly affordable renters insurance through Geico so it could be covered, giving you peace of mind.
Tammy (Geico Subconscious News)
Aw, I love a story that ends well.
Dan Bernstein
Next up, love stories. Are they all they're cracked up to be?
Tammy (Geico Subconscious News)
It feels good to worry less. It feels good to Geico.
Host: Dan Bernstein and Matt Abbatacola
Date: March 5, 2026
In this breaking-news edition, Dan and Matt react live to the Chicago Bears’ shocking trade: sending WR DJ Moore and a fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for a second-round draft pick. The episode dives deep into the motivations behind the move—financial, strategic, and performance-related—and explores how it positions the Bears for flexibility in free agency, especially regarding centerpiece free agent Tyler Linderbaum. The hosts also explore the broader implications for the roster, draft strategy, and summer priorities, while reflecting on DJ Moore’s Bears legacy and addressing related NFL news.
On DJ Moore's legacy:
“He made Bears history...his performance mattered, his contribution and he’s got all time great Bears moments—full stop.”
(Dan Bernstein, 07:17)
On taking the "high road":
“The Bears have to take the absolute high road on this. 100%.”
(Dan Bernstein, 07:17)
On the strategic “go-for-it” trade model:
“If you have the coach and you have the quarterback, you can figure things out in other ways.”
(Dan Bernstein, 36:13)
On the young WR room and future outlook:
“I love that they’re building a young wide receiver room. I love it.”
(Matt Abbatacola, 12:01)
On Max Crosby rumors:
“I just worry about a 30-year-old player and downside risk and injury risk and I love those picks, man.”
(Dan Bernstein, 19:14)
On position priorities:
“I'm all about spending the money on Linderbaum at center and then using my draft picks to build up the rest of my team...like what happened last year in 2025, one of the best draft classes in football.”
(Matt Abbatacola, 29:41)
(24:34 – 29:08)
(33:02 – 37:02)
(39:48 – 44:51)
Dan and Matt’s unfiltered, up-to-the-minute reactions provide vital context for understanding the Bears’ blockbuster trade, the new roster-building strategies in play, and the tension between aggressive short-term moves and long-term stability. Both hosts clarify that while the DJ Moore move closes one chapter, it’s ultimately about maximizing the team’s Super Bowl window—especially with a young core and financial flexibility to address key positions.
Throughout, the episode balances analytical rigor and “real fan” candor, giving Chicago Bears fans a thorough, honest, and engaging walkthrough of this pivotal offseason development.