Elijah Moore discusses issues with New York Jets coaches

A second-round pick in 2021 out of Ole Miss, Elijah Moore had 43 receptions for 538 yards and five touchdowns in 11 games as a rookie. However, his numbers declined in his second season with the New York Jets, as he had 37 receptions for 446 yards and a touchdown despite playing in five more games.

Part of the problem seemed to be issues between Moore and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur. There were reports that Moore used some expletives and told LaFleur "You suck." This led to some believing Moore is a malcontent and that the Cleveland Browns, who traded for him in the offseason, might have an issue down the road.

Moore, however, claims those words were never said. He also said it really doesn't matter in the end.

“I didn’t say that,” Moore told Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. “No. But at the same time, it’s like I’m in New York so things are going to come out and it doesn’t even matter anymore. If I said it or if I didn’t, they’re going to look at me how they want to look at me. You can’t please everybody. It just sucks that stuff like that was coming out.”

For what it's worth, LaFleur was not retained by the Jets as they finished the year with a six-game losing streak and his offense failed to score a single touchdown in the final three weeks of the season. He also said that there were no issues between the two and that they had discussions rather than arguments.

New York Jets were ready to go in a different direction

Even with LaFleur out, the Jets were ready to go in a different direction. After trading for Aaron Rodgers, they brought along a couple of the weapons he had in Green Bay — the same weapons he said weren't good enough to win there while he was blaming everyone but himself for their failures in 2022.

In addition to former Packers Allen Lazard and Randall Cobb, the Jets also signed Mecole Hardman away from the Chiefs. That allowed Cleveland to come in and land Moore for a very affordable price.

The fresh start will surely be good for Moore and the Browns are thrilled to have a potential game-changer in their offense.

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