DJ Moore and Stephen A. Smith Credit: © Matt Marton-Imagn Images / First Take
By Sam Neumann on

DJ Moore was nowhere to be found after the Bears’ season ended.

He skipped the locker room Sunday night. He wasn’t present for locker cleanout Monday. And according to the Chicago Sun-Times, Moore — typically one of Chicago’s most accessible players — also avoided reporters in the days leading up to the playoff game.

That absence loomed larger because of how the season ended.

On Caleb Williams’ overtime interception — the play that eliminated the Bears — Moore appeared to jog through his route instead of attacking the ball. Whether it was miscommunication, effort, or something in between, it was a moment that demanded an explanation. Moore didn’t stick around to provide one.

That didn’t sit well with Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, who, during Wednesday’s First Take, unloaded on Moore during his “What Are You Mad About?” segment, ripping the receiver for skipping both required media availabilities.

“When you are in a situation where you are responsible or had something to do with the game ending playing the playoffs, and you have two chances to meet the media after a game, you’ve got to show up,” Russo said. “You’ve got to show up and give us five minutes. Just answer a question. ‘What happened in that last play?’ It’s the game. It’s the season. We [sic] football for nine months and DJ Moore doesn’t show up.”

The longtime SiriusXM host pointed to Moore as the latest example in a growing trend, bringing up Mark Andrews skipping media availability after Baltimore’s divisional-round loss to Buffalo last season and Stefon Diggs doing the same in previous years.

Players making massive salaries have an obligation to face questions after crucial mistakes, Russo argued, especially when fans sat through five-degree weather to watch their season end. Stephen A. Smith didn’t push back on any of it. For him, Moore’s disappearing act came down to professionalism and accountability.

“Just because you’re an adult doesn’t mean you know how to be a professional,” Smith said. “When you guys that can’t take it, that just shows. I mean, you got a lot of folks out here — and I’m not calling him that — but you got a lot of folks out here who are mental midgets. They just can’t take it.

“In the case of DJ Moore, four-years, $110 million ($82.6 million guaranteed), you know you probably ran the wrong route or whatever. You don’t want to sit up there and own it, you don’t want to talk about it? That’s not good at all.”

Williams handled the aftermath differently. The second-year quarterback showed up Sunday night and again Monday during locker cleanout, taking questions about the play that ended Chicago’s season. He called it a miscommunication — he wanted Moore to flatten his route underneath the safety while Moore kept it vertical — and took responsibility without throwing anyone under the bus.

“His route is to go deep and attack that angle, which he did,” Williams said Monday. “[I] thought we were going to go under the safety at that point. It didn’t happen that way.”

Raw emotion after a crushing loss is understandable, but talking to reporters — especially when your actions are central to the outcome — is part of the job. More so when you’re the highest-paid player on the team. Even more so when the play that ends your season has your fingerprints all over it.

The Sun-Times noted health could have been a factor. Moore had been managing a knee injury for weeks and was evaluated for a concussion after a hard third quarter hit. He finished with five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann