Disgruntled Jets WR Elijah Moore excused from practice

Second-year New York Jets wide receiver Elijah Moore was excused from practice Thursday.

Coach Robert Saleh told reporters it was an excused absence for Moore due to a family matter, but ESPN reported that "Moore's absence was more football-related."

Before the Jets took the field for practice, Moore tweeted "Love my teammates!" followed by "God I need direction," but he deleted the latter.

He had also aired grievances about not being targeted a single time in the Jets' Week 6 win over the Green Bay Packers, tweeting, "If I say what I really wanna say ... I'll be the selfish guy... we winning. Grateful! Huge blessing! All I ever wanted. Butter (sic) sweet for me em but I'll be solid. So I'll just stay quiet Just know I don't understand either."

After a promising rookie season in which he caught 43 passes for 538 yards and five touchdowns in just 11 games, the 2021 second-round pick has started every game in 2022. However, he has just 16 receptions for 203 yards without a score.

"You guys look at the last couple weeks, we just haven't thrown the ball much," quarterback Zach Wilson told reporters. "A lot of opportunity hasn't gone around. It's not a thing where I'm trying to avoid him or whatever it is because he's a great player. I'm just going through my progressions. ... We're talking about routes and how we can clean things up every week. It's just being patient and trusting the process.

"I love him and I hope he understands that he's special to our team."