The Bills Just Traded for DJ Moore Despite Being $32 Million Over the Salary Cap
So good Football Operating by Brandon Beane.
The Bills and Bears have officially reached an unofficial agreement that can’t become really official until the start of the league year on Wednesday. The Bills are receiving receiver DJ Moore and the Bears are receiving the Number 60 and 163rd overall picks in the upcoming draft (per A to Z Sports). Adding Moore gives Josh Allen a true number one, something he hasn’t had since Stefon Diggs was traded to the Texans following the 2023 season. The DJ Moore trade comes less than two months after the Bills let go of longtime head coach Sean McDermott who reportedly had roster concerns entering the playoffs, where the Bills lost to the Broncos in overtime of the second round. If McDermott’s roster concerns were receiver related, as many speculated, he might be pulling out his hair at the trade news…or at least he would be if he had any.
The Bills addressing their biggest roster concern from 2025 creates a new one for 2026. Per Spotrac, the Bills are currently over the Salary Cap by more than $32 Million, ranking them 31st out of 32 teams. Only the Vikings have a worse salary cap problem, over the cap by more than $44 Million. To get under the cap the Bills are going to need to restructure or offload contracts (In other words – someone’s getting cut). Moore is now the Bills third biggest cap hit for 2026, occupying $24.5 million of the cap. Only Dion Dawkins ($24.8 million) and Josh Allen ($56.3 million) cost more.
Surely the Bills will figure out how to get under the cap in time for the Wednesday deadline. The only remaining question is what casualties the Bills will absorb in order to afford their new Wide Receiver 1.