Browns appear ready to give up on Elijah Moore as a backfield weapon

This offseason, the Cleveland Browns swung a trade for Elijah Moore from the New York Jets. A former second-round pick in 2021 (34th overall), Moore had fallen out of favor in New York and the Browns were thrilled to have a versatile player with speed and the ability to make plays after the catch.

Head coach Kevin Stefanski even decided during training camp to get him some work in the backfield — which was an exciting prospect at the time.

After just four games, it appears the team might be moving on from this idea. Browns analyst and the co-host of Browns Daily, Nathan Zegura, joined The Ken Carman Show on Friday and said he thinks Moore will head into Week 6 lined up as a traditional wide receiver more often.

While Zegura never said this is coming from a conversation with Stefanski, it's important to remember that he's about as plugged into a team as anyone. He sees what's going on and hears the talk around the facility.

Should the Browns move Elijah Moore out of the backfield?

Of course, every Cleveland fan knows why this is even being brought up. Moore has been less than advertised in this role and just had one of the worst plays of the early season in Week 4.

Moore took a reverse from Dorian Thompson-Robinson and found no running lanes. Instead of taking the loss of four to five yards, Moore tried to run from everyone by going the wrong way and it lost them 20 yards.

It also dropped him to three yards on seven rushes.

As for throwing to him out of the backfield, that's also been a bust. Not every reception he's made has come from this position but he still has just 148 yards on 17 catches for an average of 8.7 yards.

Moore has the speed to stretch the field and Cleveland would be right to try and let him use that speed to get open rather than continue with the handoffs and short passes while hoping he breaks a big play.