Elijah

Moore

Moore visited the Bills on Monday and then saw the Browns place the unrestricted free agent tender on him. Per Field Yates, this means that Moore will count against the compensatory free agent formula should he sign with another team. If he is unable to sign with another team prior to the first day of training camp, the Browns would retain exclusive negotiating rights at 110 percent of Moore’s 2024 salary. That carries a value of $3.428 million in his case.

Moore, 25, caught a career-high 61 passes last season and finished second on the Browns with 538 receiving yards. The former second-round pick would likely be viewed more as a role player if he did sign with the Bills, as Keon Coleman, Khalil Shakir, and Joshua Palmer are expected to see the majority of snaps in three receiver sets. Moore is a talented receiver who could provide solid depth to a strong receiving corps, but it’d be hard to envision him being any kind of a difference-maker.

Moore saw a few weeks of plus production in the middle of the season while Jameis Winston started under center but otherwise finishes 2024 with pedestrian counting stats. The soon-to-be unrestricted free agent ends the season with 61 catches for 538 yards and one touchdown and is likely to find himself playing for a different franchise in the coming year with the Browns almost assuredly set up for a full rebuild this offseason.

Moore was stuck in the fantasy-unfriendly role of being the only Browns pass catcher to be consistently sent on downfield routes. He (12.5 yards) was the only player to earn an aDOT greater than 7.0 yards and Dorian Thompson-Robinson was simply not ready to meet Moore halfway. Moore cannot be started against the Ravens in Week 18.

This if the warning fantasy managers who were hoping to start Jerry Jeudy and/or Elijah Moore needed to hear. Stefanski said DTR tweaked his calf in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Bengals, but the fact he was able to finish out the game suggests this is a very minor injury. Fantasy managers banking viable weeks from David Njoku and Jerome Ford should get them with DTR under center, but Browns receivers caught a combined four passes for 41 yards in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals, making Moore and Jeudy nearly impossible to trust during fantasy championship week.

Moore and Jerry Jeudy combined for 41 receiving yards on eight targets. They were the only two Browns receivers to catch a pass, as Dorian Thompson-Robinson funneled the majority of his passes to David Njoku (10 targets) or Jerome Ford (5 targets). Moore and Jeudy will be impossible to trust in Week 17 against the Dolphins if DTR makes another start.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski said Monday that he’s hopeful Tillman can return in Week 16 against the Bengals. A limited practice on Wednesday is a step in the right direction but doesn’t guarantee he plays this week. That Tillman, who suffered a brain injury in early December, remains in the concussion protocol is a concerning sign for the second-year wideout. Even if Tillman suits up this week against the Bengals, he won’t hold much fantasy interest with Dorian Thompson-Robinson taking over at QB for Jameis Winston.

So ... not how you would draw it up. Even worse was Jameis Winston’s latest INT-a-thon finally getting him benched. Speaking afterward, coach Kevin Stefanski was noncommittal on whether Winston or Dorian Thompson-Robinson would start against the Bengals in Week 16. If it’s Winston, Moore would have last-gasp WR3 vs. the Bengals’ cellar-dwelling defense. If it’s “DTR,” Moore will struggle to crack the top 50 at wideout.

It’s been a brutal two weeks for Moore, who has managed just 45 receiving yards on 11 catches over that span. Moore and the Browns’ offense struggled for the majority of the first half, but even as things started to click, the fourth-year receiver was well behind David Njoku (13) and Jerry Jeudy (6) in the target pecking order. Moore is just one week removed from a 14-target outing against the Broncos. We’d expect things to look a bit different in Week 15 when he faces the Chiefs.

Moore’s shoulder rehabilitation appears to be going well. He is firmly on track to face the Steelers in Week 14 and could once again see an elevated target share with Cedric Tillman (concussion) sidelined again on Thursday. Moore is a volume-based flex play.