Elijah Moore
Syndication: Beaver County Times

Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore has requested a trade. The second-year player saw zero targets in last Sunday’s win over the Packers and feels that warrants a change of scenery.

Moore now won’t travel with the Jets to face the Denver Broncos this weekend. He will be inactive and rejoin the team on Monday, with Denzel Mims taking his roster spot for the game.

The Jets have no plans to trade Moore, with head coach Robert Saleh even saying it’s “not an option.” But WFAN Sports Radio Host Joe Benigno wants the organization to put the foot down.

“Get rid of him. He would’ve been gone already,” Benigno said on WFAN’s “Evan and Joe” program on Saturday. “Let’s be honest, Elijah Moore has done nothing to help the Jets win any football games this year. This guy’s crying — who is this guy to be demanding a trade? If I’m [general manager] Joe Douglas, I’d get him out of here. They’re doing the right thing this week. They’re not playing him, they’re activating Denzel Mims.”

“There are a million teams in this league that need wide receivers,” Benigno added. “The Giants come to mind. The Packers come to mind. Kansas City is still looking to replace Tyreek Hill, they clearly miss him…[the Jets could get] at least a third-round pick for [Moore]. At least. And I’d get rid of him. Goodbye, see ya. You don’t want to play here just like Jamal Adams? Don’t let the door hit you in the rear end.”

The frustration within the fanbase is reasonable. So is the desire for the Jets to execute a trade. After all, the team is 4-2, on a three-game win streak, and Moore is being incredibly selfish.

But there’s no shot Douglas makes a move. The Jets just spent a No. 34 overall pick on Moore and feel he’s an offensive staple, having drafted him just one round after they took quarterback Zach Wilson. Even with other receivers in the mix and playing well (Corey Davis and rookie Garrett Wilson), Moore is still a crucial part of the overall offensive game plan.

Trading him wouldn’t help the Jets’ offense in any way nor would it be beneficial for the development of Zach Wilson. But benching him for Sunday’s matchup is the absolute correct move. Let him cool off and see where everything stands on Monday. And in the process, see what you can get out of Mims, who has put his head down and gone to work despite not playing a down through six games.

The best-case scenario for the Jets is they beat Denver Sunday, return to Florham Park, and Moore is ready to rejoin the team with no qualms moving forward. And Mims produces and shows he could also be a viable option in the passing game.

The hope is that sequence comes to fruition over the next 48 or so hours.

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Ryan Honey is a staff writer and host of the Wide Right Podcast.