Chicago Bears wide receiver David Moore was arrested in Gainesville, Texas, on Monday morning and charged with possession of a controlled substance and unlawful carrying of weapons, according to multiple reports.
Police responded to a report of a possibly intoxicated person in a vehicle at a local Taco Bell drive-thru and said they came upon a man sleeping in the driver’s seat of a 2018 Ford F250. The man was identified as Moore.
Police said during questioning they detected an odor of marijuana, searched Moore’s vehicle and located a package of THC edible candies and three pistols. Moore was arrested, charged and later released on $5,000 bond.
This isn’t a good look for the newly signed Moore. He was only able to sign a deal because he got a tryout at the Bears’ voluntary minicamp. His deal is only one year $1.03 million dollar non-guaranteed.
“It’s just a blessing,” Moore said at the time, per the team’s website. “I’ve been at the house just hoping, waiting on a call, just an opportunity to get a chance to play football. The week was going great and I had high hopes, and then after practice they told me to wait around, that they were going to sign me.”
If the team thinks he’s a liability they’ll just cut him, and he won’t see anywhere near the full value of the deal.
Marijuana edibles aren’t cocaine or heroin so no need to get crazy or stand atop the moral high ground. But getting high and then driving is dangerous and shows extremely poor judgment.
Moore isn’t a first-round all-world talent who would get the benefit of the doubt in this situation. He’s a 2017 seventh round pick that’s already played for five different teams. Situations like this often result in players like Moore finding themselves out of the league.
More than likely the weapons and drug charges will result in a fine and community service, he won’t face any jail time. But this is not the way to begin when you might be on your last chance to stick in the league.
In his five seasons in the league Moore has caught 78 passes for 1,163 yards and 13 touchdowns. His most productive seasons were in Seattle with the Seahawks in 2018 and 2020. He developed a nice chemistry with quarterback Russell Wilson and caught 61 passes for 862 yards and 11 touchdowns in those two seasons combined.
Everything about this play was insane. Russell Wilson throws another perfect deep ball and David Moore keeps his feet in for a 38-yard TD.#LetRussCook pic.twitter.com/oQ6mqWMD2B
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 21, 2020
Moore is the third Bears player this offseason to run afoul of the law.
Wide receiver Byron Pringle was arrested in April for reckless driving and driving without a valid license while linebacker Matthew Adams was stopped by police shortly after practices ended in June for a gun violation and for a Chicago code violation — possession of metal-piercing ammunition.
The Ryan Poles-Matt Eberflus general manager-head coach era in Chicago is off to a bit of a bumpy start. Still, it’s only July and training camps haven’t opened yet. There is plenty of time for these three Bears players to get themselves right and commit to the job at hand.
