Jets WR Elijah Moore back at practice after trade request: ‘He just wants to contribute’
Elijah Moore returned to practice with the New York Jets on Wednesday, nearly a week after his heated exchange with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and subsequent trade request.
Moore, who wanted out of New York after complaining about how little the team is targeting him, missed last week’s game against the Denver Broncos. While he was back at practice and team meetings on Wednesday, it’s unclear where his trade request stands.
“I don’t know,” Jets head coach Robert Saleh said when asked if Moore still wanted to be traded, via ESPN. “I didn’t ask him.”
Moore tweeted out his frustrations following the Jets’ win over the Green Bay Packers earlier this month, a game in which he wasn’t targeted once and played a season-low 32 snaps.
Moore, who had a team-high 538 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie last season, has only been targeted eight times in his last three games.
Though the Jets are winning — the team is on a four-game win streak and opened the year 5-2 — Moore got into a heated exchange at practice with LaFleur and then requested a trade. He was inactive for their game against the Broncos and remained in New Jersey.
Saleh, who has said the Jets have no intention of trading Moore, said Wednesday that Moore has “been fine.”
"Was there frustration? Is there frustration? There probably still is in terms of what he wants his role to be from a ball-production standpoint, but he's not quitting on anybody,” Saleh said, via ESPN. “He's not out there dogging it. He's not sitting on his helmet. He's not skipping [practice] and holding out and he's not faking injuries. He's not doing any of that. He just wants to contribute."
Moore has 203 receiving yards on 29 targets in six games this season.
Though there’s still time for a trade to go down, the Jets are seemingly welcoming Moore back with open arms ahead of Sunday's game against the New England Patriots.
"It's all love, man," cornerback and captain Justin Hardee said, via ESPN. "We can't wait to get him going, can't wait to have some fun out there. He's a great player. He's going to be special for us. I can't wait for him to go make a play so all of this stuff will calm down. Once the guy makes a play, it all goes away."
