WR Elijah Moore (5.30.24)
So how different is it this time around? Having been here before or with the new offense and everything… Is it sort of like starting over again?
“Yeah, I mean, this time of year, it is like coming back on the field again, seeing the faces again, getting to know my new teammates. But it is good to be back out here and see the new teammates and gel and learn them as well and also getting back to work.”
Elijah, there was a lot of chatter last week. People sort of freaked out a little bit on social media and elsewhere that you weren’t here last week.
“For real?”
Yeah so, can you just explain, I know it’s voluntary. So, can you just explain that there was, you know, nothing going on? I think there was speculation that ‘is he mad about something’ or what’s going on?
“Nah, let’s just clear that up. There’s nothing to be mad about. There’s a lot of stuff going on in the world. I’m not a person that looks at… I’ve been invited by competition my whole life, so it’s not like I’m mad cause (Jerry) Jeudy, or I’m mad cause (Amari Cooper) Coop or anybody else that comes in. I ain’t never shy from nothing. I’m from Florida, so that’s nothing that I’m ever afraid of. If anything, that opens us up, which you guys don’t realize, you know? And I’m excited about what we got. You know, I grew up with these guys. When was the first time that you guys have the opportunity to have two people from exactly where you from and you get to play alongside of them? You see what I’m saying? A lot of the times for receivers, you know, we’re always out there by, you know, ourselves. So to have the opportunity to be in the locker room, be on a team, to where if I see somebody every day, it’s at least some familiar faces, you know? So, I think that is a blessing, you know, and I’m gonna work my ass out just like I always do. So, I’m not afraid of nothing.”
What about the trio of you and Amari and now Jerry Jeudy, opening up the offense when you’re out here getting some work and installing what Ken Dorsey and Kevin Stefanski been working on this off season, what excites you most, and what do you think that we’re going to see that’s a little bit different than last year?
“I just feel like it’s going to be a lot more explosive. You know, that’s what comes to my mind when you have players like how I know that these players that you named are. It’s super exciting to line up against, you know, with these guys alongside with these guys. And I just think that having Dorsey, someone who’s an extravagant guy like him, you look at him and you could just tell he loves football. So, my time here has been nothing but a blessing learning from somebody else who has a great track record, you know, so respect to that, and I’m excited.”
How does Deshaun (Watson) look to you?
“He looks good. Yeah, he looks good. I mean, at this point, I feel like it’s like this cycle, you know, we always talking, we always checking in. We just want to play, too, you know? So, we’re just taking it day by day, that’s all you can do. We’re putting our best foot forward just like he’s putting his best foot forward every single day. I watch him work his ass off every single day. You see what I’m saying? And that’s all that we could ask for. You see what I’m saying? For him to work his ass off. So, I think he looks good.”
Going back to, obviously, adding Jerry (Jeudy) and the competition, they also gave Jerry that extension. You thought at all about your situation and your future here beyond kind of this season?
“So, like, if I think about it, I’m gonna drive myself crazy, but I feel like I do it kind of just like how I did my entire life. I just take it one day at a time you know, I focus on the task ahead, you know, if I handle what I’m supposed to handle, I’m gonna be blessed, you see what I’m saying? So that’s just how I look at it. I don’t really focus on that because it’s not my time yet.”
I know you talked last year, I think in the middle of the season, we asked you about your stats, and you made the comment like, I know what my numbers are, and I’m just trying to put, like, one foot in front of the other. Do you feel like your thinking is kind of similar with something like that? It just seems like you don’t want to focus on things you can’t necessarily control?
“Yeah, I think the statement like keep going is so slept on because that’s what everybody says, but, like, that’s all that I can do. You know, nobody here has the answers to life. Nobody here has the answers to why certain situations go the way they do, you know? So, I think that all we can do is put the next foot forward. You see what I’m saying? Focus on one day at a time and win all my moments. So that’s all I focus on.”
Changing the quarterback room a little bit with Jameis (Winston) on board now, what have you seen out of him? Getting a lot more of these reps right now as Deshaun (Watson) slowly kind of works his way back.
“I think that he was like a great pickup for us. I think that was something that I was excited to be around him from everything I heard about him. I think he’s super smart. I think he loves football and just the way he talks to us day in and day out so far, just being at OTA’s is from a very detailed standpoint. You can tell he’s played a lot of football and I’m just excited that he’s here with us too.”
You can’t plan or predict injuries, but I mean, how big would it be for a full season of Deshaun Watson healthy from week one moving forward?
“I think it would be something exciting. Anytime someone could get in their groove like that, I feel like you would see nothing but them getting better week in and week out.”
Is he any different now versus last year? Obviously, besides working his way back and talking like mentality, confidence, is he the same guy?
“I feel like nobody’s the same. You know, you’re not the same guy as you were yesterday. Yesterday you experienced something that you were totally different than you are today. So nah, he’s totally different, but different in a better way. You know, like he’s learned from what happened last year and the years before and what happened yesterday in his meeting, you see what I’m saying? So he’s definitely a better person every single day. Like, he’s nothing but a positive light in our locker room and on the field.”
The AFC is full of firepower, especially on the wide receiving core side of things. Where would you stack this receiving core with the addition of (Jerry) Jeudy amongst the rest of the AFC?
“Number one. If you’re not thinking that, you shouldn’t be playing. Number one. We got a crazy group.”
Are you a little bigger than last year?
“What you think?”
You look a little bigger, that’s why I’m asking (laughter).
“I’m always working, man. I don’t know. I’m the same weight. I don’t know, I look good? That’s all that matters.”
Are you looking forward to getting out on the grass here with Jerry (Jeudy) and with Amari (Cooper), all you southern Florida guys getting out there and just seeing what this is going to look like?
“Yeah, definitely. I feel like that’s something that we can’t wait for. But, you know, right now we got to exercise our moments of getting ourselves healthy, being in the right mindset, and just anything else that is going on that we personally don’t know that other people experiencing and having to go through.”
I don’t know if this has been asked already, but did you get a chance to talk with Jerry (Jeudy) when he first got traded here and what was his message to you?
“Dude, is from where I’m from, so we chop it up a little bit. He was just excited. I feel like, you know, when you switch teams, it’s a fresh start, you know? And I think just like anybody else, some people need that, you know, just to see new faces and to get to get out of the environment you were before, you know, like, obviously, we all know it’s no secret that the environment that he was in last year and the years before wasn’t, like, probably the best. You see what I’m saying? I just feel like, how can you not think positive about what’s to come?”
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