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It was the right thing to do . . .
Talking about the Jets trading wide receiver Elijah Moore and a third-round pick to Cleveland for a second-round pick.
Moore did a couple of things that were bad for the Jets’ cultural re-boot, so it was probably best for them to move on. First, he complained about his role after a WIN in Green Bay. A player complaining about his role publicly isn’t never ideal, but it’s particularly bad after a win. For the Jets to upset the Packers in Lambeau Field, and then to have a player complain about not getting the ball, you can’t have that if you want to build a strong culture.
The second thing he did you can’t have in a strong culture is he cursed out an assistant coach at practice.
A few days after the Packer game, he reportedly threw a tantrum at practice, which led to him being sent home. He reportedly said some nasty things to former Jets OC Mike LaFleur.
The Athletic’s Zach Rosenblatt, reported recently that after the Green Bay game where Moore had no catches, on the Thursday practice that followed, he told LaFleur to “go f–k yourself” and “you suck” at one point.
Whatever you think of LaFleur as a coach, you can’t have that kind of behavior if you want to have a strong culture.
Even with civility on the decline in society, most players would still never do this. When you tell your boss to “go f yourself,” you might need to look in the mirror and say, “I need to improve my character.” Remember, he slipped in the draft due to character concerns.
Then after he was sent home after this tantrum, he requested a trade through a media surrogate.
The Jets finally granted that request on Wednesday, sending him to the Browns.
And getting a second-round pick for him is huge because it can be used to get Aaron Rodgers. And now that they have two second-round picks, they will likely be able to hold on to one and pick a potential starter in that round.
Yes, they had to trade a third-round pick to Cleveland, and I’m not minimizing the import of third-round picks, but if you truly want to have a great team, you need to consistently nail your first and second-round picks. Those are the money rounds. And remember, since every team has players stacked differently on their value board, it’s quite possible you will get a player you had a first-round grade on in the second round, and since the Jets’ two second-round picks are a 42 and 43, pretty high in the second round, the chances of them getting a player with a first-round grade from them, with one or both of those picks, is possible.
Something else Douglas did, to me, which was pragmatic, was signing former Kansas City Chief Mecole Hardman right before trading Moore. Hardman and Moore are commensurate talents, both speedy receivers who entered the league as second-round picks.
So to trade Moore and get a two you could use in a Rodgers deal, and then sign a player on a reasonable deal with similar talent to Moore, seems like very astute personnel maneuvering.
March 23, 2023
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