According to Brad Biggs of the Tribune, if Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney had signed a three-year deal last year, he could have been under contract right now.
It doesn’t always turn out that way, and at least one Bears player doesn’t seem to think so.
Brad Biggs of the Tribune reports that wide receiver Darnell Mooney may have already had a deal in place, but he is currently headed toward free agency. Before the previous season, Biggs stated that Mooney was given a three-year contract for $10 million on average, but he declined it. “There’s a cautionary tale here for Mooney as he turned down an extension offer from the Bears before last season started,” Biggs said.
Following an ankle injury and surgery that limited his 2022 season to 12 games, Mooney had just 31 receptions in the previous season.
During the first two seasons of his career, Mooney caught 142 passes in Matt Nagy’s offense while playing quarterback for Nick Foles, Mitchell Trubisky, Andy Dalton, and Justin Fields. The previous two seasons, Fields started the majority of the games. Regarding Mooney, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN stated on Monday that he believes Tennessee and Kansas City might “be players” when free agency opens with the two-day March 11 negotiation window.
In Spotrac.com’s opinion, Mooney’s subpar 2023 season has little impact on his value. They estimate that he is worth $10.4 million annually on the market. According to Pro Football Focus, it will be $9 million annually.
