Former Jets WR draft bust surprisingly fighting for Bills roster spot

The Elijah Moore experience in Buffalo isn't off to the most encouraging of starts. The former New York Jets second-round pick signed a one-year deal with the Bills this offseason, hoping to jumpstart his career, but he might already find himself on the roster bubble this summer.

Moore failed to record a catch in the Bills' preseason opener this past weekend, and reports out of Buffalo's training camp suggest he's fighting for one of the final roster spots in the team's wide receiver room.

That wasn't the plan the Bills had envisioned for Moore when they signed him to that one-year contract worth up to $5 million. The hope was that Moore could potentially even earn a role as a starter in Buffalo's thin wide receiver corps.

But the Ole Miss product has failed to stand out this summer, all the while the starting trio of Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, and 2024 second-round pick Keon Coleman seems pretty much set in stone.

Elijah Moore fighting for a roster spot in his latest Jets revenge tour attempt

A second-round pick of the Jets in the 2021 NFL Draft, there was a time not too long ago when Moore felt like a future building block of the team's offense. He showed flashes as a rookie, finishing the year with 43 catches for 538 yards and five touchdowns despite poor quarterback play.

Moore's NFL career derailed in 2022 due in large part to an untimely trade request that came in the midst of a three-game winning streak for the Jets. Moore had grown frustrated with his role in the offense, partially due to the presence of rookie standout Garrett Wilson.

The Jets would wait until the offseason to honor Moore's request, shipping him to the Cleveland Browns as part of a swap of Day 2 draft picks. Moore would find moderate success in Cleveland, although he never managed to eclipse 640 yards.

Still just 25 years old, the Bills took a chance on Moore as a one-year high-upside flier, hoping they could tap into some of the potential he showed with the Jets and Browns. Evidently, that hasn't worked out as they intended to this point.

Moore is currently battling with the likes of veteran Curtis Samuel, former UDFA standout Tyrell Shavers, and the likes of Laviska Shenault Jr., K.J. Hamler, and others for depth spots in the Bills' receiver room.

But while Shavers has impressed and is making a strong case for a roster spot, Moore has done little with his reps this summer. There's legitimate talk about Moore failing to make the 53-man roster altogether.

Moore signed with the Bills hoping to revitalize an increasingly stagnating career. Instead, his stock is at its lowest point yet. The next two preseason games will decide whether this is a revival or the end credits.

More NY Jets news and analysis: