Jets general manager Joe Douglas met with the media Tuesday for his midseason availability and likely last availability until the end of the season. Naturally, one of the subjects that were brought up was wide receiver Elijah Moore. Douglas praised Moore as best he can.
“We love Elijah,” Douglas said Tuesday. “We all stood on the table to take him in the second round last year and we think the world of him.” The Jets took Moore at the top of the second round in 2021, at pick No. 34.
Moore became disgruntled after seeing (unofficially) one target in Week 6 against the Green Bay Packers, tweeted his frustrations and then requested a trade later that week. The Jets would sit Moore for Week 7 against the Denver Broncos before he would return to the team last Monday.
Moore was active for Week 8 against the New England Patriots but played just ten targets and saw one target that was not caught.
Douglas touched on that trade request but said issues like that are handled in-house. “Obviously, we’re a football family. Anytime there’s an issue, we like to handle that in-house. I was able to have a really good one-on-one conversation with Elijah.”
Douglas did add that he believes Moore has a bright future as a New York Jet and that the Jets did have some calls on him, “but at the end of the day like Robert (Saleh) said, Elijah was always going to be a New York Jet.”
With the trade deadline passed and both Moore and Denzel Mims still with the Jets, the question now becomes how the Jets intend to get the two of them, particularly Moore, more involved in the offense. In seven games this season, Moore has 16 catches for 203 yards. He had 43 catches for 538 yards and five touchdowns as a rookie. Time will tell how much the Jets truly believe in Moore, starting with Sunday’s key home game against the Buffalo Bills before their Week 10 bye.
