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because Odunze and Burden need more snaps, and you have to believe in your guys and go forward assuming they will grow. DJ takes snaps away from our core future players.

Signing a mid level free agent is fine, it doesnt have to be Braxton. There will be many other choices.

Every week on the TTNL game wrapup they showed film of DJ jogging routes. I saw it with my own eyes every week. Its just true.

If it's true that DJ was taking plays off all year, does anyone honestly think BJ would be playing him? He watches tape 10 times more than we do. Walker would have been getting snaps. Burden wasn't getting a lot of snaps until he blocked better. BJ notices everything.

No matter any fans opinion, we will see in real time if the Bears value him. I don't like the idea of getting rid of a good player untill you can see Rome healthy and Burden growing one more year. They can restructure his contract for cap space. When it's time to pay Caleb, we will see him gone when he contract has marginal less dead space. I doubt he will bring more than a 3rd rounder and wouldn't make the contribution DJ would next year. Why take a step backwards?

It could be our cheapest option at this point, resign Braxton if they don't draft a first round LT.

😎😎😎

Hell no!

All good options. I like the idea of cultivating from within.

I think I understand where you're coming from. I agree not every argument for keeping DJ is emotional. The one you presented here is well reasoned. I disagree and I'll say why, but there is nothing wrong with what youve said here in my opinion. So first off, I'm not really talking about just one play, but a real pattern of them across the whole year. I think that makes him a negative role model in terms of the veteran leadership point youre making. I also agree that we have the chance to be something really special on offense, I see that too. I just think Luther Burden is ready to step into DJs role, and I dont think DJ is really a WR1. Now both Odunze and Burden have a lot of growing up to do. I dont disagree with that at all. But I think when you have young players that you think have the ability to be special, and you have faith in your position coaches to coach them up, I think letting them play is the best way for them to grow and become the dominant players you think they can be. Right now it's a lot of mouths to feed, if you want to think of it that way, it limits the snaps of the other guys. For me, I dont see DJ getting any better. He's decent right now, but he doesnt have the upside that Odunze and Burden have. I think you could find another free agent WR to play the role Burden did this year, and let Burden step into DJs shoes. And also, yes I think DJs cap number should go to the defense.

Listening to Thayer the other day, he pointed out getting Theo the strength training he needs. He's a big athletic guy coming off the knee surgery last year. This would be his strength gain year. Theo seems like a got that will do what's necessary. Also, Poles said Kiran is progressing nicely. Thayer also stated that he believes the surgery Ozzy is getting is like the new Achilles surgery. Thinking the odds of recovery get better all the time. He miss a good portion, if not all of next season. My guess is that we sign Braxton on a one year prove it or an experienced vet.

I don’t know whether this got answered before but is there any real possibility in asking Thuney to play the position? I’d assume it would involve more money for him but he seemed to do fine in the one game he played it. That is until the play where Caleb chucked it to Kmet to tie the game. Your video with Kreutz mentioned ‘the left collapsed’ on that play . Wasn’t sure it was Thuney or McFadden he was referring to . Edit: sorta answered my own question. Looked to see if that was in fact a possibility and even though I didnr get a definitive ‘yes’ it was noted he’s done it before . Sounds like he did it as recent as 2024 when playing for the Chiefs. He did it for a stint later in the season but they noted a combination of the line itself wearing down and his body style (not really a tackle) being a big reason they made an early out on the playoffs. Still, could he be a bridge until Trapillo comes back or another ‘up and comer’ is identified?

its not a put down I MEANT it. I was saying the things that make you a good person dont necessarily apply to running a football team. Why is everyone so prickly right now? Geez.

Your backhanded insults are cute I’ll give you that. I see why Stinger gets so fed up with you. You don’t have to take my word for it since you seem to know who or what I am. Just watch the video clip Stinger supplied on Lucky’s post and see what Olin Kreutz has to say about it. We know he has the bonafides.

again, you (or at least i do) have to take into account not just one play, not just a few plays but the whole body of work and also that of our entire receiving core, injury implications and i am sure a few other items. i would assume our new coach address's any problems like this if it is as you say. this is not player love, this is looking at the health of this franchise over the long run. absolutely nothing as been proven with these young players as to the final quality or longevity either. if we had relied on them only this season we wouldn't have even gotten in the playoffs due to injuries and untimely drops. this young WR core needs someone to mentor them that isn't just a coach. i have been watching this team for a long time and this offense has the potential to be better than anything in the our past since the modern age of the NFL came into being. i don't want to get cute and mess too much with that to save some cap money that can be absorbed creatively.

The message is if you take plays off and jog your routes youre gone even IF youre highly paid. I LIKE that message. I like it a LOT.

i think you could add to this factor he is a senior voice among the WR's due to age and experience. how much is that worth bringing up short time/rookie receivers in learning the game, playing through injury and how to perform on and off the field? also in my opinion only, how does it look for this organization's loyalty to free agents that are here or ones we want to bring in? to me it sends a message that you better get a very good contract upfront. this is a cap killer anyway with FA's but if you show them it's worth coming in at a discount on an up and rising team i can't see that as a detriment. people mentioned the pats and them turning over players... i seem to remember that brady always had at least one good receiver and gronk. i don't believe they compromised on the OL either very much. if memory serves they never put themselves as a organization at risk for the next season by cutting key components. good FA's gravitated to that franchise and gave the pats a discount because it was a chance for a ring. we aren't at that point yet.

exactly - it isnt rocket science. Remember the route DJ quit on causing an interception in the GB game, at the left front corner of the end zone?

Regardless of knowing or not, we know three things. 1). DJ inexplicably slowed down. 2). Caleb expected to be elsewhere. 3). Tom Waddle said, the cardinal sin for any receiver is to let a deep safety get under you in a route. If you are trying to identify poop, you don't start by tasting...

Im not sure what youre saying. Ill try to take them one at a time. First here, you seem to be saying that giving full effort half the time is a good thing? Im not saying DJ never gave full effort, Im saying he quit on routes a lot, and that it caused interceptions. And not just the one - remember the Green Bay game in the left front corner of the end zone? Someone who doesnt give full effort all the time is a problem for the culture. Rome also has some hard work to do. He has a LOT of drops. Hes also on a rookie contract and still learning. DJ is getting $28.5M a year. He should be an example to inspire Rome to do better. So this is just nonsense. When you look at JT's analysis, he clearly knows a lot about routes and offensive schemes. I dont always agree with him, but I think he is right a lot. Also, I didnt say "because JT says this it must be true" LOL I have my own eyes, and I see what goes on. What I said was that it was SO bad that JT called it "F*ck You Effort" thats not just bad, its awful. But even if JT never existed, DJ is still half assing it way too much and costing this team. So i think you do understand. It feels like you just want to have some kind of loyalty for DJ. Thats nice in the real world, youd probably make an excellent friend or neighbor. But this is football, and if you want to win, then you gotta do whats necessary to build a winning team. What I dont understand is why people seem to get emotional and want to defend these players. They arent hurting from our comments. Theyre all millionaires. They deserve to be judged harshly for their play on the field. Thats how you build a winning team. With accountability - not participation trophies?

I think this may be in and of itself a huge factor. Especially as you mention the longevity of how long DJ has played and managed to stay (more or less) healthy throughout. And when you compare it to the performances thus far to players like Burden and Odunze; yeah that’s telling. Could it not be said that either of these guys were ‘taking plays off’ while being on the bench to recover from their injuries? Let’s not forget Odunze let a key pass fly right through his hands on a sure TD play against the Rams . Why was that? Too much time on the sidelines? I will say this about DJ. I have to ask how much productivity does he really have left? He’s put it out there, no doubt, but to what extent? And is he more valuable now as a trade piece or continuing to play for the Bears? As far as some stats to analyze I wanted to see, among the Bears receivers, was the most productive . By and large Loveland came out on top. And that was with him not really being involved for the front 1/4 of the season. But DJ was favored in a few other stats. One of those being he had the second most receiving yards, he also led the team in average yards per game and average yards per catch. I believe after Burden he was also # 2 at YAC. https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/chicago-bears-team-stats?season=2025&seasonType=reg&category=receiving

Yet we can just as easily forget all the other handsfuls of plays where he gave full effort (and then some). Again, we don’t know who really messed up the play. A lot of “experts” assume it was DJ. Sounds like Rome may have been complicit too? According to JT anyhow? By the by, I’m convinced if either one of us decided to apply ourselves just a little bit more in football we could’ve accomplished as much in life as has O’Sullivan. Starting a YouTube channel isn’t all that complicated. And although not a fan of just discarding a player because it’s what everyone wants, I realize that DJ is near the end of his shelf life (playing wise) and is now a valuable commodity towards maybe one younger (and probably unproven) defensive player. I still remember the days when people used to take pride in career players staying with their teams. The league has changed over time.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Bnd2cz_O6JM?si=eIm3fIyXJAngTChC