Elijah Moore has gone through a lot in his four years in the NFL.
The former second-round pick has been searching for stability since entering the league with the New York Jets in 2021. Moore has played with 11 different quarterbacks already. So he prioritized a settled quarterback situation when deciding on a new team in free agency.
“I haven’t really had too many great opportunities with a stable quarterback (an) entire season,” Moore said. “I’ve been playing with so many guys – what feels like five quarterbacks every single season.”
Moore officially signed his one-year contract with the Buffalo Bills on Monday and met with reporters on a Zoom conference call shortly after. Josh Allen’s success and consistency in Buffalo were major factors in Moore’s decision to sign with the Bills.
“I just feel like having, being blessed with the opportunity to – God willing – have 17 for the entire season, the MVP at that … I feel like it would just be the best position that I’ve been put in yet,” Moore said.
Moore gives the Bills an intriguing skill set at the receiver position. He ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at his pro day when he was coming out in the draft in 2021. At various points in his career, Moore’s separation numbers have jumped out despite the overall stats, leaving fans in New York and Cleveland wanting more.
After a five-touchdown rookie season with the Jets, the dysfunction in New York led Moore to request a trade by October of his sophomore season. He was dealt to Cleveland in the offseason before his third season and found more success with the Browns. In two years, Moore caught 120 passes for 1,178 yards and three touchdowns.
Moore had more consistent production in Cleveland but the revolving door at quarterback took a toll on the young receiver. He caught passes from Joe Flacco, Deshaun Watson, P.J. Walker, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Jeff Driskel, Jameis Winston, and Bailey Zappe over the past two seasons. Trying to build chemistry with the guy delivering the football was a constant frustration point.
Allen currently has the most consecutive starts (115) of any quarterback in the NFL.
“What is he? 6-5? 6-6? Two-what, 230? 240? I mean, MVP of the league,” Moore said. “I’ve been playing against him. It not hard to love what you see. Playoffs every single year. Pretty much one game away from a Super Bowl every single year. And if I could be a part of something special like that, why not run towards it? I’m not running from nothing.”
The Bills have made some changes at the wide receiver posiiton this offseason. After trading for Amari Cooper during the season last year, the veteran remains on the free agent market. Mack Hollins, who led the Bills with five receiving touchdowns in 2024, signed with the New England Patriots.
Bills general manager Brandon Beane signed former Los Angeles Chargers receiver Josh Palmer to a reported three-year deal worth $36 million. He’ll likely start opposite second-year receiver Keon Coleman. Khalil Shakir will be in the slot again after leading the Bills in targets (100), receptions (76), and receiving yards (821) a year ago.
Moore is looking to fit in where he can.
“I just love to add to a room and to a team and to an organization I feel like I would fit best in,” he said. “I hold myself to be a high positive, a high caliber player too, that can contribute and could compete. … So just coming in, being a positive aspect to maybe motivate and maybe dig deeper in the receiving room, as far as what I can bring to the table.”
The Bills and Moore began having conversations before the NFL Draft. Beane recently said he wanted to see how things went in the draft before adding another veteran receiver option. The Bills didn’t draft a receiver until the seventh round when they took Maryland’s Kaden Prather.
Moore gives the Bills a veteran receiver who now finds himself in the best situation of his career in the Bills offense. He’s determined to erase the stigma that he knows follows him to Buffalo. He wants to show that he can be a contributing force ona. top-tier offense.
“I have ran into some quarterback trouble,” he said. “I can’t throw the ball to myself. The guys that I have played with in the past were not bad quarterbacks. It’s just kind of the situation. It’s not an ‘I’ type of sport.”
Moore feels like he’s grown through his struggles. He’s ready to embrace whatever role he earns in Buffalo.
“I feel like in the past, I had to do a better job of maybe handling, like when I got to league, understanding (how things work),” he said. “Seeing that it’s not just like, ‘Oh, if you work hard, and you’re the best – or you feel like you’re the best player – like you’re gonna get the ball.’ It’s not like that. Other guys are getting paid … just as much as you. So, it’s just something I feel like I had to adapt to. It’s just, overall, has been a learning lesson. But everywhere I’ve been has been a blessing. It’s just, I feel like this is the is the better opportunity.”
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