St. Louis Rams sign T.J. Moe

Former Mizzou wide receiver T.J. Moe signed a one-year deal with the St. Louis Rams Monday afternoon. The St. Louis native will play for the team he rooted for his entire life.

“Any opportunity is outstanding but there’s no place like being at home,” Moe said. “When you can play for your hometown team, that’s the team you rooted for and made bets on your whole life. I was a Rams fan growing up so it’s just natural.”

Moe signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent last spring but injured his achilles shortly after. He spent time on injured reserve before getting released in March.

“If they (St. Louis) give me an opportunity, they’ll get every ounce of hustle and energy I got,” Moe said in a phone interview with ABC 17 Sports Director Austin Kim.

Moe spent this off-season working out and getting healthy. He was also in the national spotlight for his thorough opinions on fair compensation for NCAA student-athletes and the recent movement by Northwestern football players toward unionization.

“I had no idea anyone cared what I thought,” Moe said. “But I figured out pretty quick that I guess some people do. I just gave an opinion and ended up turning it into something bigger. It is just an educated opinion from someone who can articulate it and someone who was in that position a year ago.”

“You can’t make so much money off a group of kids and not let them make some off themselves,” he said on the issue. “It’s not fair. They will have to cover full cost of tuition, which most schools miss that mark by $4,000 a year. Some guys just can’t afford to it, so they are going to have to find a way to make it so they can.”

Moe had 188 catches and 2,101 yards with 11 touchdowns in his Missouri career.