Why Bears let Darnell Mooney leave to sign with Falcons

Billy Heyen

Why Bears let Darnell Mooney leave to sign with Falcons image

Darnell Mooney was a quick breakout player in his time with the Chicago Bears.

The speedy wideout was just a fifth-round pick out of Tulane. But in his rookie season, he had 61 catches, and then in year two, he went for 81 grabs for 1,055 yards.

The next two seasons both failed to surpass 500 yards, though.

Mooney left Chicago after the 2023 season to sign with the Atlanta Falcons, for whom he's played the last two years.

The Falcons and Bears play on Sunday, giving Mooney a chance against his former team.

MORE: Why Keon Coleman may have been benched by Bills

Why did Bears let Darnell Mooney leave to sign with Falcons?

Mooney was disappointing in his third and fourth seasons with the Bears.

Part of that was due to an ankle injury, and some just had to do with the Bears' offense not being very good.

Mooney left to Atlanta, where it initially looked like he'd be a long-term partner with Kirk Cousins, but has now instead turned into a target for Michael Penix Jr.

The 5-foot-11 wideout hasn't been as good as anticipated for the Falcons, and he's had a lot of injury trouble with Atlanta, too.

The Bears bulked their receiving corps back up with Rome Odunze, Luther Burden and D.J. Moore, and they likely don't miss Mooney at all.

More NFL news:

Editorial Team