NFL

Jets reach deal with Hardman, trade fellow WR Moore to Browns

By Sports Desk March 22, 2023

The New York Jets have added a wide receiver while getting rid of another, agreeing to a one-year contract with free agent Mecole Hardman and trading Elijah Moore to the Cleveland Browns.

According to NFL.com, New York will receive the Browns' second-round pick (42 overall) in this year's draft and will send Cleveland their third-round selection (74 overall) for Moore, who showed promise as a rookie in 2021 but had his role diminished this past season and requested a trade in October.

Moore became expendable after the Jets struck a deal with Hardman that could be worth up to $6.5million. The former Kansas City Chief joins a revamped receivers corps that also includes ex-Green Bay Packer Allen Lazard, who agreed to a four-year, $44m contract last week.

Swapping Moore also allows New York to boost its draft capital for a much-rumoured trade for four-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Lazard's former Green Bay team-mate.

Hardman figures to replace Moore as the Jets' primary slot receiver and recorded career highs of 59 catches and 693 receiving yards in 2021.

The four-year veteran's numbers dropped to 25 receptions and 297 yards last season as he missed nine games with an abdominal injury that later required surgery, causing him to miss most of the Chiefs' playoff run to their second Super Bowl title in four years.

A second-round pick in the 2021 draft, Moore caught 43 passes for 538 yards and a team-high five touchdowns during his rookie year but began to be phased out of the offense after the first four games of last season. The soon-to-be 23-year-old had just 22 catches, 254 receiving yards and one touchdown over the Jets' final 13 games.

Moore was also benched for one game after reportedly getting into a heated disagreement with then-offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur in October, which prompted a trade request the Jets would not grant at the time.

He now joins a Cleveland team in need of a slot receiver to pair with 2022 starters Amari Cooper and Donovan Peoples-Jones. 

The Browns are now without a pick until the 74th selection of the upcoming draft. Cleveland previously traded their first and third-round choices to Houston in the deal that sent quarterback Deshaun Watson from the Texans to the Browns. 

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