My guess is that this happens if the Bears deal him to get Chris Jones from KC. As much as I like Mooney, a good trade would maybe make sense. Mooney is in his last year of his contract. He is so replaceable next season (Mooney is a 5th round pick). I get it. The Bears have had so much crap at WR that Mooney looks like a superstar to us. He's not.
If this rumor is true, then the coaching staff must be seeing something in Claypool that we aren't.
Except the OTC dude didn't mention KC.
And it could be simply getting something for a guy you do not plan on keeping when his contract expires at the end of this season. If they don't see Mooney as a long-term fit here, then see if you can get some value for him before he leaves. Mooney was a 5th round pick... try to get at least a 5th for him instead of getting nothing at the end of the season. Really, it's all about 2024 and beyond. This is not a big season for the Bears. But in 2024 we could see a solid playoff team emerging here - and build with young players (many of them on first rookie contracts too).
If this rumor is true, then the coaching staff must be seeing something in Claypool that we aren't.
Except the OTC dude didn't mention KC.
And it could be simply getting something for a guy you do not plan on keeping when his contract expires at the end of this season. If they don't see Mooney as a long-term fit here, then see if you can get some value for him before he leaves. Mooney was a 5th round pick... try to get at least a 5th for him instead of getting nothing at the end of the season. Really, it's all about 2024 and beyond. This is not a big season for the Bears. But in 2024 we could see a solid playoff team emerging here - and build with young players (many of them on first rookie contracts too).
I think we are seeing Poles playing chess several moves in advance where it comes to cap management. We have several players who will be UFAs at the end of the 2023 season (link). And I tend to agree with what GrizzlyBear posted. If you look at all the WRs on the roster, there are several that have similar physical traits and athletic abilities as Darnell Mooney. I'm not saying the other guys are as good a receiver as Mooney is, just that there may be some sense of being interchangeable with each other. Especially when you compare Mooney to Velus Jones (link1) and Tyler Scott (link2). Claypool has the potential to play a role in our offense that no other WR can do. But it could be that Poles and the coaching staff don't see Mooney as being that much better than 2 or 3 other guys in the WR room. And they could be looking for Tyler Scott to develop quickly and are willing to see what they can get for Mooney.
If they feel they will be parting ways with Mooney at the end of 2023, now is the time to see if they can get anything for him.
