The San Francisco 49ers have traded for wide receiver Skyy Moore from the Kansas City Chiefs as injuries have taken a toll on their receiving corps during training camp. General manager John Lynch addressed the reasoning behind this move following a series of injuries to Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings, Jacob Cowing, Jordan Watkins, and Russell Gage.
Moore, who is 24 years old, made his mark at Western Michigan University between 2019 and 2021 with 171 receptions for 2,482 yards and 15 touchdowns in 30 games. He earned All-MAC honors three times and was selected by the Chiefs in the second round (No. 54 overall) of the 2022 NFL draft. Since entering the National Football League, Moore has played in 36 games with modest results: 43 receptions for 494 yards and one touchdown. He also has experience as both a punt returner and kick returner.
Lynch discussed his perspective on acquiring Moore during his weekly appearance on KNBR’s “Murph and Markus” program. Lynch said: “I think the bottom line is, Skyy’s a talented guy who probably, a change in environment was needed (…) And we get a chance to do it this early. What I like about it is it gives us an opportunity to evaluate him here before the season. Very talented young man who was a second-round pick in the 2022 draft (…) Probably has fallen short of the expectations they had for him, but he brings a lot of value in terms of, he’s a dual-returner, meaning he can do punt and kickoff return. With Jacob Cowing out, that became valuable and important to us. We really believe there’s a lot of talent and sometimes, talent, in spot, expectations of being a second-round pick and not living up to it, the scrutiny, sometimes a change of scenery is a needed thing.”
Adding to the team’s challenges at wide receiver is Demarcus Robinson’s three-game suspension stemming from an offseason DUI.
Moore did not find significant success under coach Andy Reid with Kansas City but will look for new opportunities working alongside coach Kyle Shanahan and quarterback Brock Purdy.
