WR Elijah Moore (5.24.23)
How’s it been getting acclimated with Deshaun?
Feels good. I feel good. I’m glad to be with the team. I feel like practice has been going smooth, so I can’t ask for them anything better.
What did you guys get out of the Puerto Rico trip? I know there was some pleasure, some work. What was that?
A little bit of both. It was a smooth week of just connecting and gelling with the teammates, the camaraderie. I got to learn a lot of them boys from a different perspective. I feel like it’s only going to help out here. So we all stayed until like Friday and then we came back and got straight to work.
What’s it been like working with Amari?
It’s been cool. I’m getting to learn his personality more. A quiet dude, but definitely has a lot to say. I could tell he’s super smart and he loves football. I haven’t gotten to see him do too much. He’s getting himself right, but as far as a person, I feel like he’s super cool.
Do you feel like we’re going to have to be the sort of louder voice in that wide receiver room?
I feel like I got to be whatever the team needs me to be. It calls for different moments and different times, but we all got to put our head down and work, too. If that’s what it takes. To be the person of example, that’s what I got to be. If I got to speak up, I got to speak up.
What are your first impressions of your role?
“Yeah, it’s nothing like it. I’ve been training and I feel like I hold myself to train really hard and to put myself in the best position. But like we were all saying after practice yesterday, it’s nothing like being out here doing it for real. I feel good about everything. We’re taking it one day at a time and I feel like it’s going to be what we wanted to be.
What is the biggest adjustment of getting used to a new team?
Probably just learning everybody and then the quarterback. Different quarterback, different arm, seeing what he sees and just the communication around the team. Everyone communicates differently, but I feel like it’s going to go well. So I can’t complain.
What have you learned by being around Deshaun for the last month?
He loves football. That was the first thing off the rip, I was probably most excited to see up and close, because I heard all the stories growing up. Watching him in college, seeing all those national games and watching him work and stuff like that. So seeing how much he loves football. We were in the hotel, and he’s in the playbook when we’re chilling on the beach. We just got done working out. We all got work done, and he’s still in the playbook, so seeing how he is with that only gives us more confidence. Like, ‘Okay, let us go look at the playbook one more time. I can’t ask for nothing better.
Do you think that those scramble skills he has suit you and that you guys have kind of a natural chemistry to be able to excel in that area?
I feel like we don’t have a choice. With him having that component with his legs, I feel like you have to be good at the off-schedule stuff. It’s just going to have to be part of the game.
Is that off-schedule stuff exciting for you?
Oh, yeah. I feel like, man, they get tired, we keep running. We run all day anyway, so I guess it’s just another tally for us as far as, like, positive.
Do you feel that when you get into that wide receiver room, when you get out there with the offense, that you’re kind of that missing piece?
Yeah, man, to hear that positivity as far as speaking on my name, I can’t do anything but feel blessed to be in the opportunity that I’m in right this moment. It feels good to be wanted, and it’s going to make any player, any human, go harder. When you feel like that and you feel like you’re around people who want you to be here, so I’m going to give it all I got every single day.
Do you feel like when you look at the trajectory of your career so far, do you feel like it’s just going to be kind of like, popping up from here?
Yes, ma’am. That’s why I came here. And if you’re not thinking like that as any player, then you have the wrong mindset. I hold myself to be a positive person. Obstacles come just like how I handled last year, and I feel like it only put me in a better position to go through life, let alone football now. So from this point on, I’m looking to be a better human being, a better football player, better brother, mother, whatever it is, because that just didn’t affect–I love football. That season didn’t just affect football. It affected my life, whether it was good and bad. So I got to learn from it.
Do you feel like people go the wrong impression of you as a person from the stuff that came out?
Social media is going to do its thing. Media is going to do its thing. The people in the building know who I am and what I stand for and what I do when I go home and how I am. So I can’t really live for trying to prove myself to everybody else. And I’m still learning that. Of course, I would want everyone to see how much time I put into it, how much I love football, how much I watch highlights this, that, and the third, you know what I’m saying? But they are going to see it in due time. And I got to trust that I hold myself as a high person of faith and knowing that I can’t worry, you know? So it’s going to come to the light when it’s exactly supposed to.
What’s the story behind those checkered flags tattooed on your neck?
Nipsey Hussle–someone that I looked up to as far as the mindset, as far as what he stood for, principles as a man. I feel like what he presented and what he showed time and time again and what he spoke about was life. It’s not going to happen when you want it, you know what I’m saying? Or even if it does, you’re going to have moments time and time again that you get to show what you stand for and how you react to things and what type of man you are. We are leaders in the world. You got to hold yourselves to be leaders, too. I feel like everyone’s watching you guys, too. What you post, what you this, what you that. So I hold myself to be someone that if I’m not good at it now, I’ll be good at it later. If it’s a negative now, I’ll make it a positive later. Whatever it is, I’m going to learn from it. It’s not going to happen when I want to happen, but I’m going to make it happen. I hold myself to that.”
With Deshaun’s talent as a quarterback, what type of an impact do you think that’s going to have on you as a player, playing with someone like him?
I feel like it’s going to have a great impact for what he has done years before and for what I’ve seen him do in practice time and time again and just the offseason work. As far as the type of person he is, you can’t do nothing but be confident in what type of person and what he’s going to do out there.
What have you seen from the guys around you that you think is going to be able to elevate your game and get the most out of you?
I feel like all the receivers–I start with my receiver group first. I feel like they’re all different and I feel like that’s a good thing. When you have all the same type of guys, it’s like you’re kind of seeing the similar things and knowing that we’re all different body types. Different people are good at different things, so we’re all get to take it and watch what we see and put it in our bag. So I feel like that component alone is kind of all we need.
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