The Buffalo Bills have added wide receiver Elijah Moore on a one-year deal, a team source said. The deal is worth up to $5 million, according to multiple reports.

Moore joins a wide receiver corps that includes Khalil Shakir (who signed an extension this offseason), second-year man Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer (who signed as a free agent in March from the Los Angeles Chargers) and Curtis Samuel. Selected by the New York Jets in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Moore will be in the mix with those players for targets from the arm of reigning league MVP Josh Allen.

The move comes just days after general manager Brandon Beane’s fiery comments during a scheduled post-draft interview on WGR Sports Radio 550 in Buffalo on Monday, when the show’s hosts discussed the notion of Buffalo drafting a receiver. The team did not select a receiver until the draft’s final round. Beane took exception and shared as much with the hosts.

“We just scored 30 points in a row for eight straight games,” Beane said. “A year ago? I get you guys asking why we didn’t have receivers. But I don’t understand it now. You just saw us lead the league in points when you add all the postseason. No one scored more points than the Buffalo Bills, including the Super Bowl champions.

“You just saw us do it without Stefon Diggs. How is this group not better than last year’s group? I don’t … our job is to score points and win games. Where do we need to get better? Defense, we did that. So I get it, you’ve got to have a show, and you’ve got to have something to b—- about, but b—-ing about wide receiver is one of the dumbest arguments I’ve heard.”

Moore, who visited the Bills on Monday, has spent the last two seasons with the Cleveland Browns after two years with the Jets. Last season, he caught 61 receptions (third on the team) for 538 yards (second on the team) and one touchdown. Across four seasons, he has 200 receptions for 2,162 yards and nine touchdowns. He has added 71 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Moore ranked No. 67 on The Athletic’s top 150 free agent list. He had the unrestricted free agent tender applied to him, meaning that by signing with another team, he still counts towards the compensatory free agent formula even though that deadline had passed after the draft.

How Moore fits with Buffalo

There is an enhanced focus on the wide receiver position following Beane’s defense of how the team’s offense performed in 2024. During the appearance, Beane said that if there was a wide receiver who fit their needs and was at the top of their board, they gladly would have done it, though the value of the player didn’t align with the pick when they were on the clock in the early rounds.

The Bills had a potential vacancy for a fifth wide receiver in 2025, and after they didn’t draft one, Moore likely became a priority acquisition. Although he isn’t a headlining receiver, he’s still one of the best signings the Bills could have made, given who was left in free agency after the draft, their rest-of-career potential and the age profile the Bills usually gravitate toward.

Moore fits what the Bills usually look for in a one-year deal with a free agent. At 25 years old, Moore is in the prime of his career, though after his market fell flat, he agreed to terms on a one-year prove-it deal to resurrect his career. The Bills have been known to take these types of chances on players around Moore’s age, and especially ones they had a high draft grade on when the player was eligible to be drafted. He will likely fit in as a versatile receiver who can play both at slot receiver and on the boundary at Z receiver, based on his history with the Jets and Browns. It remains to be seen if Moore will provide any special teams value. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer

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