Jets second-year receiver Elijah Moore will not play on Sunday against the Broncos amid his outstanding trade request, coach Robert Salah announced Friday.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Moore was “frustrated” with his role on the team and requested a trade this week. He was reportedly excused from practice Thursday for a personal day, according to Salah, but ESPN’s Rich Cimini said that the 22-year-old’s absence was directly related to his usage on the field.
Moore’s request seems to stem from his lack of targets through the first six weeks of the campaign. Despite playing on 82% of the Jets’ offensive snaps–a team-high among New York’s receivers–Moore ranks sixth on the team in receptions (16), fifth in receiving yards (203) and fourth in targets (30) this season.
In New York’s 27–10 victory against the Packers last weekend, Moore was targeted just once, and the play was negated by a penalty.
It’s certainly not the start to the 2022 campaign that many anticipated from Moore, the Jets’ second-round pick in the ’21 draft. As a rookie last year, he appeared in 11 games and started six, recording 43 receptions for 538 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 12.5 yards per reception.
Though Moore’s frustrations seem to be mounting, the Jets (4–2) are off to their best start since 2015. In the past two games, New York has only thrown the ball 39 times, relying more heavily on the running game and rookie breakout Breece Hall.
Moore may be absent from this upcoming weekend’s game, but that doesn’t mean the Jets plan to move on from the former Ole Miss star. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports and Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic reported that the team has no intention of trading Moore ahead of the Nov. 1 deadline.
Saleh reiterated that sentiment during Friday’s press conference, saying that trading Moore is “not an option.”
The Jets play the Broncos at 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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