Bears deal DJ Moore to Buffalo, plus more NFL trades that need to happen

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

It’s been a wild 24 hours around the NFL, and if this is what things are going to be like between now and the start of free agency, we might need to start sending out seven newsletters per day to keep up. 

The Rams and Chiefs pulled off a big trade Wednesday, and then, just a few hours later, the Patriots let Stefon Diggs know that his services would no longer be needed in New England. And things haven’t slowed down on Thursday with the Bills acquiring DJ Moore after making a trade with the Bears. As far as NFL news goes, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Things are only going to get crazier after the weekend. 

NFL free agency kicks off next week, and things are going to get wild. Although free agency doesn’t technically start until Wednesday (March 11), the legal tampering period starts Monday (March 9) at noon ET, and that’s when the real fun will begin. 

Anyway, let’s stop talking about next week, because we have a lot to cover right now. 

As always, here’s your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Let’s get to the rundown. 

1. Five trades we’d like to see happen

Although free agency doesn’t start until Monday, the free agency lead-up is usually when we start to see a flurry of trades. That process kicked off Wednesday with the Chiefs sending Trent McDuffie to the Rams in a blockbuster deal. (We actually graded that trade, and if you want to know how each team fared in the deal, we’ve got that covered here.) 

What other trades might go down in the coming days? Tyler Sullivan made a list of five trades he’d like to see this offseason, and we’re going to check out three of them. 

TRADE ONE: Mac Jones to the Dolphins

• Dolphins receive: QB Mac Jones
• 49ers receive: 2026 third-round pick, conditional 2027 third-round pick

Sullivan’s breakdown: Jones fits the scheme that this new Dolphins offense is expected to run under offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who is a Kyle Shanahan disciple after working under him from 2017-22 in San Francisco. Jones, who went 5-3 as the 49ers starter last season, would adapt rather quickly to playing in a similar scheme he was in last year.

TRADE TWO: Jaylen Waddle to the Broncos 

• Broncos receive: WR Jaylen Waddle
• Dolphins receive: 2026 first-round pick 

Sullivan’s breakdown: If the Dolphins entertain offers for Waddle, the Broncos should be willing to put their first-rounder (No. 30 overall) on the table. Denver sought another top receiver to pair alongside Courtland Sutton and around Bo Nix for quite some time, and seeing Waddle inside a Sean Payton offense could see him reach new heights.

TRADE THREE: Maxx Crosby to the Eagles 

• Eagles receive: EDGE Maxx Crosby
• Raiders receive: 2026 first-round pick, 2027 second-round pick

Sullivan’s breakdown: The Eagles possess the No. 23 overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and Howie Roseman should be willing to part with it (along with a second-rounder next year) if it can land him Crosby. We saw last season how impactful a legit edge rusher can be with Philadelphia after it was the No. 1 scoring defense in the league after acquiring Jaelan Phillips at the deadline in a deal with Miami.

Sullivan proposed a total of five trades, and if you want to see his full list, you can do that here. 

2. Bills make big trade: Buffalo acquires DJ Moore from Bears

One of the Bills’ biggest needs this offseason was a true No. 1 receiver, and they found one Thursday after acquiring DJ Moore from the Bears. 

Here’s what we know about the trade: 

• Bills get: DJ Moore
• Bears get: 2026 second-round pick, 2026 fifth-round pick

Now, let’s break down why this trade happened. 

Why this deal makes sense for Buffalo:

If the Bills needed to upgrade at one spot on offense, it was definitely wide receiver. Josh Allen is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but he can’t throw the ball to himself. In 2025, the Bills saw just one receiver on their roster top 420 yards, and that was Khalil Shakir, who finished with just 719. 

Going into the offseason, they didn’t have a true No. 1 guy, but now they do with the addition of Moore. The best part for the Bills is that it shouldn’t take Moore long to learn the offense because he’ll be reuniting with Joe Brady. Moore and Brady spent two seasons (2020-21) together in Carolina when Brady was the Panthers offensive coordinator. Moore had two impressive years with Brady calling plays, topping 1,150 yards in each season. 

Over the past 15 years, only one Bills receiver has topped that number and that was Stefon Diggs, who did it four times. Moore could provide a game-changing shift in Buffalo’s offense. 

Why this deal makes sense for Chicago

For the Bears, this was almost a no-brainer. For one, they have two young receivers in Luther Burden III and Rome Odunze who should be able to carry the load with Moore now gone. Odunze was the ninth overall pick in 2024 and he’s averaged 697.5 receiving yards per year in his two seasons in Chicago. As for Burden, he finished with 652 yards and two touchdowns as a second-round pick in 2025.

The other upside for the Bears is that this move creates $16.5 million in cap space for them. That’s a solid chunk of money that Chicago will be able to use in free agency, and it’s money the Bears might need to spend on signing a new center after the surprising retirement of Drew Dalman this week. 

We’ve got the full details on the trade here. 

3. Stefon Diggs landing spots: Teams that make sense for four-time Pro Bowler

After just one season in New England, the Patriots have decided they’re done with Stefon Diggs. The team has informed Diggs that he’s going to be released. Diggs was the Patriots’ leading receiver last season with 1,013 yards, but that wasn’t enough to save his job. This was a decision that essentially boiled down to finances: The Patriots create $16.8 million in salary cap space by dumping Diggs. 

This move means Diggs is soon going to be hitting the free agent market. With that in mind, Bryan DeArdo came up with a few landing spots for the 32-year-old, so let’s check them out. 

• Ravens. While he’s no longer an elite player, Diggs would be an upgrade over what the Ravens currently project to have in their starting lineup alongside Pro Bowler Zay Flowers. Baltimore makes even more sense when you consider that two of its key backup wideouts — DeAndre Hopkins and Tylan Wallace — are slated to become free agents.
• 49ers. In addition to having three wideouts who are pending free agents (including Jauan Jennings and Kendrick Bourne), the 49ers also don’t appear to have Brandin Aiyuk in their future plans after he virtually disappeared during the 2025 season to the point where his contract was voided. While signing Diggs wouldn’t solve all of their problems at receiver, it would be a considerable step, especially if they were able to get something done quickly.
• Steelers. The Steelers are basically in any conversation involving receivers after they unsuccessfully tried to land a proven veteran at the position last season. In Pittsburgh, Diggs would take some attention off DK Metcalf, who was consistently double-teamed during his first season with the Steelers.

If you want to see where else Diggs might end up, DeArdo has a full list of landing spots here. 

Although Diggs will certainly draw some interest in free agency, he does come with one major red flag. The receiver is currently facing several criminal charges, including felony strangulation. Diggs has pleaded not guilty in the case, which is currently scheduled to return to court in April. 

4. Aaron Rodgers gives first interview in two months: Three things to know

Aaron Rodgers hasn’t done a public interview since the Steelers’ season ended in January, but that changed Wednesday when he talked with Pat McAfee for nearly 90 minutes. 

Here’s what you need to know about the interview: 

• Rodgers is still undecided about whether he’s going to play in 2026. The 42-year-old said he hasn’t made a decision about what he’s going to do this year, and the Steelers haven’t been pressing him for an answer. “There’s been no deadline that’s been put in front of me,” Rodgers said. “There’s no contract offer or anything. So there’s nothing that I’m having to debate between. … I think there are conversations to be had down the line, but right now, there haven’t been any progressive conversations.”
• Rodgers seems on board with the hiring of Mike McCarthy. Rodgers spent 13 seasons with McCarthy in Green Bay, and although things ended on a sour note with the Packers, the four-time MVP said he’s still close with his former coach. “I love Mike, and Mike and I have kept in contact over the years.”
• Rodgers is staying in shape. Although he wouldn’t reveal whether he plans on playing this year, Rodgers did say he’s staying in shape. “I’m trying to stay fit,” Rodgers said, via ESPN. “I mean, it’s harder when you get older, so you can’t take the same amount of time off as you used to. After so many seasons, I would take a few weeks off, a month off, month and a half. Now 42, just to stay in shape, you got to always be dialed in on the diet and sleep and workouts if you want to look the right way.”

Based on his answers, I won’t be surprised if he returns for one more season. He has a coach he likes, he’s staying in shape and he would be playing for a Steelers team coming off a division title. You can read more about the Rodgers interview here. 

5. Ranking all 32 NFL owners based on their leaked NFLPA grade

The NFLPA report cards weren’t supposed to be available to the public this year, but they leaked out last week, so I decided to take advantage of that. Earlier this week, I went through all the report cards to see how each head coach graded out. This time around, I decided to do the same with the owners. 

One of the most interesting parts of the grading system is that it allows each player to anonymously rate their owner, which gives us an idea of how well the person at the top of the organization relates to the players on the field. 

The NFLPA had 1,759 players rate their team in 17 different categories, including ownership. With that in mind, let’s check out the highest- and lowest-graded owners:

The last two NFL teams to be sold were the Broncos (August 2022) and Commanders (July 2023), and the two new ownership groups have clearly set a high bar. The two teams have been successful both on and off the field. On the field, the Commanders reached the NFC title game in 2024 while the Broncos got to the AFC title game in 2025. Off the field, it’s pretty clear that both ownership groups are well liked. The group that ends up buying the Seahawks will have a lot of pressure on them to live up to the standard that Washington and Denver have set. 

The Vikings also deserve some credit for being here. In the three years that players have been allowed to evaluate their owner, the Vikings are the only team that has scored an A+ each time. Minnesota’s ownership can’t figure out how to win a Super Bowl, but it seems the rest of the organization is pretty well run. 

Now let’s check out the owners who got hit with the lowest grades: 

The Steelers earned the second-lowest grade, just barely finishing ahead of the Cardinals. The Steelers are viewed as a blue-blood organization in the NFL, but the Rooneys haven’t done a good job of keeping the players happy. Last year, Steelers players gave the team a D, so things actually got worse this year. It’s a somewhat surprising grade for a team that’s viewed as a model franchise in the NFL. 

As for the Cardinals, the NFLPA has been grading the owners for three years now, and Arizona is the only team that has been given an F in at least two of those three years. Getting the only F is a bad look, so Bidwill might want to try and figure out what he needs to do to improve his grade for next year. 

If you want to check out the individual grade for each owner, you can do that here. 

6. Extra points: A’s open to Kyler Murray return

It’s been a busy past few days in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

• Athletics would welcome back Kyler Murray. In 2018, the Athletics used the ninth overall pick in the MLB draft on Murray, but he decided to play football instead. With his NFL career at a crossroads, A’s general manager David Forst said the door is still open for him to make a return to baseball. “Kyler is an elite NFL quarterback and I’m sure there are plenty of opportunities for him to continue his football career,” Forst told MLB.com on Wednesday. “That said, he and his baseball representatives know that we’re always open to him exploring a return to baseball with the A’s if that time ever comes.” If Murray can’t find a QB situation he likes this offseason, it could become an intriguing option for the 28-year-old. 
• Steelers set to release Jonnu Smith: Possible landing spots for the tight end. After just one season in Pittsburgh, Jonnu Smith is on his way out. The Steelers are expected to release the tight end, and once that happens, he’ll be able to sign anywhere he wants. So where could he end up? We came up with a few landing spots, and one of the teams that was at the top of the list was the Broncos. You can check out our full list of options here. 
• Falcons expected to release Darnell Mooney. The Falcons already have a thin receiving corps and it’s about to get thinner, because the team is expected to release Mooney. As far as wide receivers go, Mooney had the second-most yards (443) and receptions (32) for the Falcons last year behind only Drake London. (Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson both had higher numbers than Mooney, but they obviously aren’t wide receivers.) The move will create $7.4 million in salary cap space, which is likely why the Falcons decided to dump the 28-year-old. 
• Myles Garrett cited for speeding. Normally, we wouldn’t mention something as simple as a speeding ticket, but this is the NINTH time Garrett has been cited since being drafted by the Browns in 2017. This time around, Garrett was clocked going 94 mph in a 70 mph zone. In September 2022, Garrett was injured after he flipped his Porsche, and this is his second citation since that happened.