Second-year New York Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore was excused from practice Thursday.
Coach Robert Saleh told reporters it was an excused absence for Moore due to a family matter, but ESPN reported that “Moore’s absence was more football-related.”
Before the Jets took the field for practice, Moore tweeted “Love my teammates!” followed by “God I need direction,” but he deleted the latter.
He had also aired grievances about not being targeted a single time in the Jets’ Week 6 win over the Green Bay Packers, tweeting, “If I say what I really wanna say … I’ll be the selfish guy… we winning. Grateful! Huge blessing! All I ever wanted. Butter (sic) sweet for me em but I’ll be solid. So I’ll just stay quiet Just know I don’t understand either.”
After a promising rookie season in which he caught 43 passes for 538 yards and five touchdowns in just 11 games, the 2021 second-round pick has started every game in 2022. However, he has just 16 receptions for 203 yards without a score.
“You guys look at the last couple weeks, we just haven’t thrown the ball much,” quarterback Zach Wilson told reporters. “A lot of opportunity hasn’t gone around. It’s not a thing where I’m trying to avoid him or whatever it is because he’s a great player. I’m just going through my progressions. … We’re talking about routes and how we can clean things up every week. It’s just being patient and trusting the process.
“I love him and I hope he understands that he’s special to our team.”
–Field Level Media