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RE to Denarius Moore signing:
I wrote in Wednesday's Chronicle: "There's a hope that Denarius Moore is a recoverable project that could rebuild a career that was demolished in Oakland."
DTurn responded: "I sense Josh is not overly fond of this signing, unlike a very large number of CJers with more positive comments on his signing."
This isn't the impression that I was intending to broadcast, to be honest. Granted... when the Bengals signed Moore, my heart didn't flutter with joy, nor did it grow dark with dread. I hope that my opinion/perspective is more "matter of fact" and honest than that. Maybe I've become more like a Wizard of Oz character that needs a little more joy. Regardless, positive or not, let's not pretend that we know how this will play out over the next three months.
If the Bengals draft a wide receiver anywhere in the first three rounds, Moore will be, at best (and provided that injuries don't impact the position... which is always a significant "what if" with these conversations in mid-April), a No. 5 wide receiver. A.J. Green? Safe. Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu will be your No. 2 and No. 3 receivers respectively.
Where and what will be Moore's impact?
If the Bengals draft a receiver late during the 2015 NFL draft to compete with Brandon Tate as the primary kick returner, now you have a situation where Moore will compete against James Wright and Cobi Hamilton for one spot... and that's under the impression that Eric Ward and Tevin Reese won't make much of an impact (OK, they probably won't).
Moore's foot is in the door right now; it's up to him to walk through. Maybe he does, or maybe he becomes another nondescript body in training camp. I'm not launching fireworks at the signing because, as of right now, Moore is a recognizable name that might not even make the 53-man roster -- please don't tell me that the only argument supporting Moore is his relationship with Hue Jackson. It'll be because he worked his ass off to earn that spot, and that's the part where he needs rebuilding.
I'm no more moved about this signing than I was when the team signed Greg Little -- who is dealing with his own oddly unfortunate circumstance. If Moore blossoms into a free agent steal, awesome. We'll toast to honey mead and sing songs to our lovely wenches. If not, oh well. Oakland was sprinting the other way when the question of his return surfaced and other NFL teams weren't beating each other to court him.
It's not that I'm not favorable (or am) of the Moore signing. It's just that this signing isn't that big of a deal to me. To each their own, right?