Panthers WR D.J. Moore Throws Not-So-Subtle Shade At Baker Mayfield After Matt Rhule Says Carolina Receivers Need To Get Open

Baker Mayfield's first season with the Panthers is not going as well as he would have liked. Even his receivers appear to be annoyed with the team's 1-2 start.

Through the first three games of 2022, Mayfield has completed 51.9% of his 81 pass attempts for 550 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Not great.

While discussing the team's passing woes, head coach Matt Rhule did not put the entire blame on his quarterback. He said that the Carolina pass-catchers could help him out by getting open more often.

One of Carolina's receivers did not seem to like what Rhule had to say. D.J. Moore was asked about his coach's comments and was very clearly holding back how he really felt while responding.

That reluctance to really speak his mind didn't stop him from making his feeling very clear. Moore's body language and carefully-chosen words expressed some frustration with the current situation. He also threw some not-so-subtle shade at Mayfield.

Moore, with a big smile on his face, smirked at the notion that he has had no issue getting open in the past. His numbers were much better in the last few seasons.

"Open is open in this league," Moore said. "If the quarterback doesn't see it that way, it's cool. They go on to the next read— next person is open. That goes for everybody in our room. Everybody can get open, doesn't matter."

Here are D.J. Moore's full comments on Matt Rhule, Baker Mayfield and the Carolina Panthers offense:

Moore is saying that the Carolina receivers have no issue getting open, despite what Rhule said. And if the receivers aren't the root of the Panthers' offensive struggles, the issues stem from the quarterback.

Moore doesn't directly blame Mayfield, but he makes his feelings pretty obvious. Read between the lines.