Six weeks into the season, the New York Jets were feeling really good about themselves. At least, from the outside, it seemed that way. The team had just scored a victory at Lambeau Field over the Green Bay Packers, winning their third straight game in a streak that became four straight wins.
New York was 4-2 and, despite being early in the season, started getting a good feeling about the season. It all went downhill from there and it started with the tense practice that week that sent one of the team’s top receivers home to cool off.
Frustrated with his lack of usage in the offense following the win in Green Bay — zero official targets — wide receiver Elijah Moore got a little emotional at practice that week in preparation for New York’s Week 7 trip to Denver. Emotional in the sense that he flat-out exploded on offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur.
In a post written by Zach Rosenblatt of The Athletic detailing a lot of the struggles of the 2022 season (subscription required, but well worth the read), Moore told LaFleur “(expletive) you” and “you suck.”
His frustration spilled into practice that week. That Thursday, Moore surprised teammates and coaches by blowing up on LaFleur, telling him to “go (expletive) yourself” and “you suck,” according to multiple people who witnessed the interaction. LaFleur and Saleh ultimately decided to send Moore home to cool off. That night, he requested a trade.
Moore was ultimately given the weekend off in the hopes that cooler heads would prevail. He did not travel with the team to Denver, a game the Jets won but at a very steep price, losing running back Breece Hall (torn ACL) and offensive lineman Alijah Vera-Tucker (torn triceps) to season-ending injuries.
Moore and LaFleur eventually got over their beef as head coach Robert Saleh showed support for Moore.
He was the second highly drafted wide receiver to do so — Denzel Mims, a second-round pick in 2020, wanted out in August, once it became clear he was buried on the depth chart. Both times, the Jets made it clear they didn’t intend to trade either. Publicly and privately, Saleh supported both Moore and Mims, and his compassion resonated with other Jets players. Moore and LaFleur hugged it out. Mims and Moore didn’t cause any issues the rest of the season.
Moore would finish with three games of at least 50 yards after New York’s Week 10 bye as he started getting more involved in the offense again. He finished with 446 yards on 37 catches with one touchdown as his numbers ultimately were down across the board from his rookie season (43 catches, 538 yards, five touchdowns).
With the Jets likely upgrading at quarterback in 2023 and Moore likely moving up the depth chart with Corey Davis a potential cap casualty this offseason, Moore has a chance to finally show he can be a factor in whatever offense the Jets will run next season, depending on who their new offensive coordinator will be now that LaFleur will be elsewhere in the league.
