LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) — Throughout his four seasons in a Bears uniform, receiver Darnell Mooney has earned the admiration of his team.
A fifth-round pick of the Bears in 2020, Mooney was a 1,000-yard receiver in his second NFL season and proved his place as a reliable target. Mooney seemed to be an ascending player, which is why his 2023 season was perplexing.
Mooney had just 31 receptions for 414 yards and a touchdown in 15 games. The Bears hoped he would benefit playing alongside new top receiver DJ Moore. Instead, Mooney never caught on.
“Mooney wishes he played a little bit better this year and things went better for him, made some more connections,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said. “But I know he’s going to bounce back and have a really good year.”
Whether that’s with the Bears remains to be seen. The 26-year-old Mooney is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason after his career-worst campaign.
Prior to last season, Poles on multiple occasions pointed to Mooney as a player he wanted with the Bears for the long term. But a change of scenery may be the best course of action for Mooney.
"Hopefully he's here next year,” Moore said. “But any team that gets him is getting a hard worker and somebody that's going to be honest with you.
“He had that 1,000-yard season. Once you get to that point, you always got that under your belt. That's something you want to chase. I know he's going to have that on the backburner in his mind to keep him going."
While Moore posted career-best numbers with 96 receptions for 1,364 yards and eight touchdowns and tight end Cole Kmet hauled in a career-high 73 catches in 2023, Mooney's production fell off considerably. The lasting image of his season was his drop of a potential game-winning Hail Mary heave in Cleveland in December, a ball that fell through his grasp as he found himself with space falling to the ground after a deflection.
Mooney declined to address reporters at the end of the season and now heads into the offseason with lingering uncertainty. He missed the final two games with a concussion and finished with the fewest receptions of his career.
“I don’t know,” Moore said of Mooney’s drop in production. “You got to ask him that. How he felt he was used this year and everything, so I mean, it’s a lot of different moving parts to that so I mean it’s really hard to answer.”
The Bears are expected to search for another dynamic receiver this offseason to line up opposite of Moore. One possibility would be to select Ohio State star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. near the top of the NFL Draft, in which the Bears hold the No. 1 overall and No. 9 overall picks. This draft class is loaded with talented receivers, notably in the first round. The Bears have ample salary cap space to use in free agency, where Mooney projects to be one of the top receivers available.
After acquiring Moore in a blockbuster trade last offseason, the Bears will look to further bolster their wide receiver corps this offseason. As they do, they must decide whether Mooney can bounce back in Chicago.
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago’s sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.