It hasn’t been a fun season for the New York Jets or Zach Wilson to this point.
As news of the former top-two pick’s mix of poor play and apparent petulant attitude continues to rock Gang Green, the revelation that head coach Robert Saleh might bench the underperforming young quarterback just over halfway into his second season seems to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
One of the Jets’ players who might be ecstatic at not having to deal with Wilson anymore is another 2021 draft pick in Elijah Moore. The former second-round receiver notably made headlines earlier this year for being unhappy with his usage in a very limited passing offense (while demanding a trade) — which, understandably, has a lot to do with Wilson’s failures. After a breakout rookie campaign where the explosive Moore caught 43 passes for 538 yards and five scores (on 77 targets), the second-year receiver has seen just 36 targets while only catching 18 passes for 220 yards thus far this season.
So once Saleh told reporters he might look elsewhere at quarterback moving forward, Moore posted a rather strange photo almost immediately (roughly one hour) after on his personal Instagram story:
#Jets WR Elijah Moore on IG: pic.twitter.com/ZOub5gPkE4
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 22, 2022
It should be noted that Moore seems to make a habit of posting multiple gameday photos on his Instagram profile. That said, it was fascinating timing to post a picture where he’s literally going through a throwing motion after already being unhappy with his role in the Jets’ offense … largely because of Wilson.
I’m not confirming it was intentional. I’m just saying: It’s interesting timing.
New York hosts the Chicago Bears at home this weekend. We’ll see what kind of work Moore gets — regardless of who’s throwing him passes.