Elijah Moore is officially a Brown after the Jets traded him to Cleveland on Wednesday.
That trade should put an end to the constant change at quarterback young receiver has played through since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2021.
On Thursday, Moore told Cleveland reporters how much he’s looking forward to playing with Deshaun Watson.
“He’s a legit quarterback,” Moore said, via Daryl Ruiter of 923TheFan.com. “It’s someone that has been doing some amazing things around the league. He has respect from everybody around the league. They talk really highly about him here and they believe in him, and man, with him being my quarterback, I believe in him too.
“So, I’m just grateful to be one of his guys.”
Ruiter noted Moore and Watson spoke on Wednesday after the trade was done and both were excited about playing together.
“When someone who’s as mobile as him, people fear with his legs as well, it just adds another element just to the whole game,” Moore said. “And you’ve been seeing that with what he does already… the games that he’s already played in. So I’m just super excited to be part of someone that can run, throw, do pretty much everything.”
Watson’s presence likely helps take the sting out of not being able to play with Aaron Rodgers, who has said he intends to play with the Jets in 2023.
“All I know is I’m a Cleveland Brown and I’m super excited to be here,” Moore said.
Moore admitted he may not have placed enough value on chemistry when he entered the league. But going through what he did in New York has changed his mind.
“I grew up in Florida and I feel like we have the mindset of kind of it doesn’t matter who’s back there,” Moore said. “So I kind of had to shift that a little bit because it does as far as chemistry. But man, if you put yourself in a position to throw with anybody and just put your trust in them — ‘cause that’s initially what it is. It really is trust. So if you trust them and they trust you, you can get anything done.
“Going through four quarterbacks I feel like was just a huge blessing for me because I got to see what that’s like, and now with being with someone like Deshaun, it’ll just make life way easier.”
Moore 43 passes for 538 yards with five touchdowns as a rookie and 37 passes for 446 yards with one TD in 2022.