For the second consecutive day, Jets disgruntled receiver Elijah Moore told reporters in the locker room that he would be back to speak after doing some stretching (Wednesday) or lifting (Thursday) and never returned to talk.
This is relevant because the NFL trade deadline passed on Tuesday without the Jets dealing Moore, who had requested a trade.
Moore played sparingly in Sunday’s loss to the Patriots and, when asked after the game what his chemistry with quarterback Zach Wilson was like, he said he had no idea because Wilson doesn’t throw him the ball.
In the wake of this baggage, Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur on Thursday was asked if he’s “confident’’ that Moore is “in the right mind space’’ entering Sunday’s game against the Bills.
“Yeah, I am,’’ LaFleur said. “I feel really — you’d have to ask him that — but I’ve really liked his approach and I think that he’s in a great mindset to go help this team win football games.”
Elijah Moore at Jets practice on Thursday. Bill Kostroun/New York Post
Reporters, of course, were unable to ask Moore because Moore has spent the past two days dodging interview requests.
LaFleur said the reason Moore saw so little action Sunday was because in the first half “we were in 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends and two receivers) quite a bit,’’ adding that Garrett Wilson was moved to X receiver spot (split wide).
“With [starting receiver] Corey [Davis] being out [knee injury], we wanted to make sure that we got [Denzel] Mims an opportunity, just having a big body,’’ LaFleur said. “I thought Mims did a lot of really good stuff — not necessarily that fill up the stat sheet — but he did a lot of stuff without the ball that was very crucial for different situations throughout the game.
“We’ll continue to incorporate Elijah in some of the stuff, along with [Braxton Berrios], along with our run game, along with our tight ends. We’re trying to get all these guys involved.’’
Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, speaking on Thursday about the challenge Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen and the Bills’ offense present, said, “It’s a fantastic offense, championship-level offense, Super Bowl-level offense. So, an opportunity to see where we stand.’’
Asked where he thinks they stand, Ulbrich said, “We’ll see. I feel like we’re a young group that’s growing and moving in the right direction, but still got a long way to go.’’
The Jets expect rookie edge-rusher Jermaine Johnson, a first-round pick, to return to the lineup Sunday after missing the past three games with an ankle injury.
“We targeted him and drafted him because of the length and size and the ability he has,’’ Ulbrich said. “This is the type of game that you’re going to need it. I’m excited about him getting back out there, getting healthy.’’
Jermaine Johnson Bill Kostroun/New York Post
In the wake of that game-turning roughing the passer call on John Franklin-Myers on Sunday, Ulbrich said the coaches have been trying to make “clear’’ how officials are calling that penalty.
“Coach Saleh dealt with it, we’ve dealt with it in the building,’’ Ulbrich said of the JFM infraction. “[We] continue to work towards just giving the clearest parameters for our players, so that we can avoid those penalties. It’s the balance and just giving clear parameters, and exactly how the league is going to call it, and getting clarity for us to coach it, and clarity from the official’s standpoint in exactly what they’re calling, so we’re just trying to make that as clear as possible to him and to us, and to everybody involved so we can avoid it.’’
Jets injury report: WR Corey Davis (knee) didn’t practice for the second day in a row, T Duane Brown (shoulder), S Lamarcus Joyner (hip) and TE C.J. Uzomah (shoulder) were all limited in practice. G Nate Herbig (hand) went from limited to full practice.