Jets WR Elijah Moore inactive vs. Broncos after trade request, Robert Saleh won't move him
New York Jets coach Robert Saleh isn’t willing to trade wide receiver Elijah Moore after his tumultuous week with the organization.
He’s not going to try and get him to play this weekend, either.
Saleh confirmed Friday that Moore — who requested a trade on Thursday after airing his frustrations with how the team was using him days earlier — won’t travel with the team to Denver for their game with the Broncos on Sunday. He will instead be inactive, and will stay in New Jersey.
"To ask him to play a football game with where he is from a mental standpoint wouldn't be fair to him, in my opinion," Saleh said, via ESPN. "But that's strictly my decision."
Moore tweeted out his frustrations with how the Jets were using him following their 27-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. The second-year receiver wasn’t targeted at all in that game and played a season-low 32 snaps at Lambeau Field.
He’s only been targeted eight times in their past three games, and has just 203 receiving yards on 16 receptions this season. Moore had a team-high 538 receiving yards and five touchdowns during his rookie season in only 11 games.
While Saleh said he spoke with Moore after his tweets and thought things were “fine,” Moore requested a trade on Thursday after taking a personal day.
Saleh confirmed that Moore got into a heated exchange with offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur before he was told to leave the facility on Thursday, too.
"Like everything, it gets to a boiling point," Saleh said, via ESPN. "He showed displeasure. It was one of those deals where it was just best for him to just relax, calm down, take a day, catch your breath and we'll reconvene at another time."
The Jets are currently on their best start since 2015 headed into Sunday’s game in Denver. They’re going to activate receiver Denzel Mims to replace Moore against the Broncos. Mims also requested a trade away from the franchise and has yet to play this season.
Saleh said he gets that Moore is just being “a competitor” and “wants more,” but he’s not willing to trade him.
What that means for his future with the Jets, both before the Nov. 1 trade deadline and beyond, remains to be seen.
"It's part of what we deal with every day," Saleh said, via ESPN. "We've had our discussions with Elijah. Trading him is not an option. We'll just continue working with him."
