Robert Saleh says Jets won't trade receiver Elijah Moore
Jets receiver Elijah Moore talks to reporters at camp at Atlantic Health Jets Training Center in Florham Park, New Jersey on July 29, 2022 Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Elijah Moore will not be traded, but he will not be with the Jets for their trip to Denver this weekend.
One day after the second-year receiver asked to be dealt, coach Robert Saleh said before practice on Friday that “trading him is not an option.”
He also said Moore was at the Jets’ facility on Friday, was excused from meetings and would work out individually Friday, Saturday and Sunday before rejoining the team Monday.
Saleh said removing Moore from team activities was not a punishment for his behavior this week but rather a nod to the player’s current emotional state.
“To ask him to play a football game with where he is from a mental standpoint wouldn’t be fair to him, in my opinion,” the coach said.
With Moore sidelined, receiver Denzel Mims will be active for the first time all season. Like Moore, Mims has asked to be traded because of frustration with his lack of use.
Mims declined to speak to reporters after practice Friday, citing an appointment.
After Sunday’s victory over the Packers, Moore responded to a reporter’s tweet about his lack of targets in the game by saying he did not understand it, either.
Saleh and coordinator Mike LaFleur spoke to Moore during the week, but Thursday brought more cryptic tweets and finally a pre-practice incident.
Moore’s frustration reached a “boiling point,” as Saleh described it, prompting an outburst that led the coach to send him home.
“It was just one of those deals where I just felt like it was best for him to just kind of relax, calm down, take a day, catch your breath and we’ll reconvene at another time,” Saleh said.
As a rookie, Moore led the Jets in targets (77), receiving yards (538) and total touchdowns (six) in 11 games. This season, he has 29 targets and 16 catches. He was targeted 21 times in the first three games and eight in the last three.
Before practice Friday, rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner tweeted a Bible verse that widely was taken as a reference to Moore’s situation, posting, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”
Gardner told Newsday that his post was simply something he wanted to say and was not directed at Moore.
Despite this week’s drama, Saleh on several occasions praised Moore’s character and work ethic.
“I will stand by that young man every day of the week,” he said.
When asked if Moore’s behavior could be viewed as selfish, Saleh said: “It could be viewed a million ways. You can do it however you want. It’s not for me, just knowing the individual and knowing what he wants. He wants to contribute.
“He is a competitive kid. He’s competitive, man. He feels like he can do more within the offense to help us cross the goal line. To me, that’s admirable.”
Notes & quotes: DE Jermaine Johnson (ankle) is out for Sunday . . . Broncos QB Russell Wilson (hamstring) has been limited in practice this week, but Saleh said: “Fully expecting Russell [to play]. Ultimate competitor.”
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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