Elijah Moore will be inactive for the Jets on Sunday, but in speaking to the media on Friday, head coach Robert Saleh said that trading the disgruntled wide receiver is “not an option.”
“We’ve had our discussions with Elijah; trading him is not an option, so we’ll just continue working with him,” Saleh said Friday morning. “It’s part of what we deal with every day.”
Moore was at the Jets’ facility working out Friday, but he was excused from meetings, will sit out Sunday, and rejoin the team on Monday ahead of their Week 8 preparation.
“In my view, whether we agree or not doesn’t matter. To ask him to play a football game, with where he is from a mental standpoint, wouldn’t be fair to him,” Saleh said, “and that’s strictly my decision.”
The decision to deactivate Moore came after he requested a trade on Thursday and was given a personal day from Jets camp, reportedly after a heated argument with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur according to WFAN insider Brian Costello.
LaFleur had said Thursday that the two had “open dialogue” and wanted to keep it in-house, but Saleh opened up a little more Friday morning on the state of the team after the controversy.
"Our locker room is fine. it's a rock solid group. We all love Elijah. We understand the business aspect of it. We know where his heart is. Elijah is a great kid," Saleh said. "He wants to contribute. He's a competitive kid. He feels like he can do more within the offense to help us cross the goal line. To me, that's admirable. You want guys to have that type of confidence."
The second-year wideout had Tweeted frustration with a reduced role on Monday, the day after he was targeted just once (on a play negated by a penalty) in the Jets’ win in Green Bay, saying, “If I say what I really wanna say I’ll be the selfish guy...So I’ll just stay quiet. Just know I don’t understand either.”
That said, Saleh had nothing but praise for Moore’s work ethic.
“He works his tail off and does everything that’s asked of him. He is a very high character individual,” Saleh said. “I get that this can look bad, but this is part of our business. I will stand by that young man every day of the week in knowing exactly where he is, needs to get, and where I know he’s going to go.”
Moore also Tweeted “Love my teammates” on Thursday morning, but clearly, he is not loving his current role on the Jets. He had 15 catches on 25 targets for 192 yards over the first four weeks, but he got just four targets and made one grab for 11 yards against the Dolphins before being shut out in Green Bay.
He played a season-low 32 snaps in that game, and even though he is still tied with tight end Tyler Conklin for most offensive snaps played by a Jets skill player (343) through Week 6, apparently, something in his usage led to him becoming frustrated with his role.
Saleh understands, and still wishes the world for Moore.
“Whether or not we lose patience or whatever it is, this is one of those cases where in my opinion, he’s going to be a great player in this league for a long time, it’s just a matter of stacking together a couple of good days and letting the ball roll,” he said.
With Moore inactive, the Jets will activate another disgruntled receiver, Denzel Mims, for the first time on Sunday. Mims has not yet played this season after also requesting a trade during the preseason.
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