Elijah Moore away from Jets as cryptic tweets, rumors swirl
Four days after Elijah Moore tweeted in response to a comment about his lack of a single target in the Jets’ win over Green Bay, the second-year receiver was missing from practice on Thursday.
With speculation ramping up about what might be going on since Moore has not been on any injury report, Jets head coach Robert Saleh walked over to the sideline early in practice and explained to reporters that Moore had been excused for the day due to a personal matter that involved his family.
There’s definitely been some smoke here – or perhaps it’s mere coincidence. Moore, who has been targeted 29 times (fifth on the team) for 16 catches, 203 yards and no TDs, is seemingly disgruntled with his limited role.
Before practice began Thursday, Moore posted some cryptic messages on Twitter, a couple of which he quickly deleted.
The first: “God I need direction.’’
The second: “Love my teammates!’’
And then: “God makes no mistakes …I trust you through it Allllll…’’
This whole thing began with a harmless tweet made by a writer after New York defeated the Packers unday, pointing out how curious it was that the second-year Moore hadn’t gotten a single target in the game, a 27-10 Jets win.
Moore then retweeted the reporter’s tweet with several responses.
“If I say what I really wanna say…I’ll be the selfish guy…we winning. Grateful! Huge blessing! All I ever wanted. Butter sweet for me em but I’ll be solid. So I’ll just stay quiet. Just know I don’t understand either.’’
Moore then followed that tweet with another: “I support all of my teammates 100 percent too. Dey know it what it is! I’m behind em like no other. Everyone rocking out neeeeds to keeep rocking out dats part of why we winning! Don’t get it confused either.’’
On Monday, when asked about Moore’s tweets, Saleh said he’s spoken to Moore and added, “He’s fine. He’s a competitive young man. He wants to contribute. I’ve got no problem with Elijah. He’s one of our high-character individuals.”
On Thursday, before practice, Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was asked about Moore’s frustration with his use.
“We’ve had open dialogue, and we’re going to keep (the conversation) in-house,’’ LaFleur said. “Guys are competitors. I’ve coached that position for a couple years and been in that room and you want those guys to be ultra-competitive and want the ball. Ultimately, we’re going to do what we feel is best to win football games. And, [Moore] is a big part of that.
“We have five guys with over 200 yards receiving now. It’s really cool. The guys are competitive, they want to contribute as much as possible.’’
Asked if Moore is simply not getting open, LaFleur said, “There’s a lot of factors to it. There are so many factors to each play. He’s showing up to work every day putting his best foot forward.’’
Through six games, Moore ranks fifth on the teams in yards and sixth in receptions. He ranks third on the team in catches for a first down with 11, behind only Corey Davis (17) and Garrett Wilson (11). His 12.7 yards per catch also ranks second among players with at least 10 catches, behind only Davis at 18.5.
Jets quarterback Zach Wilson threw only 18 passes against the Packers on Sunday, completing 10 of them for 110 yards. The week before, in a 40-17 win over Miami, Wilson was 14-of-21 for 210 yards. Moore was targeted four times in that game and finished with one catch for 11 yards.
Eagles receiver A.J. Brown, one of Moore’s closest friends and a mentor, added to the Moore mystery with this cryptic message on Thursday via Twitter accompanied by a photo of him and Moore together: “One of the strongest people I know. Tough times don’t last, tough people do. We smile in the midst of adversity because we know God is doing the fighting. Love ya and see you soon’’
Shortly after that Brown tweet was posted, it was deleted.
Presumably, Moore will be back at practice Friday and playing for the team against the Broncos Sunday in Denver.