The most underrated signing that the Buffalo Bills made this past offseason was bringing in wide receiver Elijah Moore on a one-year deal. Going into his fifth year as a pro, Moore has been in some tough situations with the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. Believe it or not, his best quarterback he’s had was Joe Flacco back in 2023.
Now he gets the chance to catch passes from the MVP in Josh Allen in an offense where they are not afraid to throw the ball. Despite having bad quarterback play, Moore has averaged over 600 passing yards, according to Pro Football Reference.
Moore brings a different type of skillset to this offense that they haven’t had in awhile. He brings speed and the ability to line up almost anywhere on the field. However, he didn't make any sort of impact in Buffalo's first preseason game, going the whole game without getting one catch. At the same time, it's one preseason game that we won't even be talking about once the regular season starts.
WR Elijah Moore listed as cut candidate for Bills
Gary Davenport from Bleacher Report listed one player for each team that should be released prior to the start of the regular season and Moore was Buffalo’s player that was listed. Here’s a bit of what Davenport said about Moore:
"Yes, he has shown the occasional flash over four NFL seasons. But he hasn't impressed in camp, didn't catch a pass in Buffalo's first preseason game and is stuck on the Bills depth chart behind Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and Curtis Samuel—at least.Gary Davenport, Bleacher Report
The Bills would have to eat the remaining $1.75 million on Moore's deal, but that would come off the books if he signed with another team."
Unless Moore really struggles over these few weeks and gets outperformed on a consistent basis, I find it extremely hard to think that the Bills would move on from him given what we have seen from him early on in his career with bad quarterback play.
The players listed above in Davenport’s statement either have more familiarity with the Bills’ offense or have a longer deal than Moore. Obviously they should be higher on the depth chart. At the end of the day, Moore is a great depth piece to have and rotate in throughout the game.
Considering his skillset that he has shown and he finally has a great quarterback throwing him the ball, the Bills need to give him a chance to show what he can do. The last thing fans want to see is the Bills move on from him and then have a big impact somewhere else.