CHARLOTTE — David Moore was sitting on his porch at his Texas ranch one spring night in 2023, wondering if he was finished in the NFL after a string of injuries and almost-jobs.

Dave Canales called and asked what he was doing.

"I was out watching for coyotes at the ranch, just a random night, and Dave called," Moore said. "He had just called to talk and just talk to me, chop it up, and see how I was doing."

Coyotes (and Moore pronounces it "KI-yoats" with his north Texas accent, as opposed to the Wile E. kind), are a real threat when you're looking after a 56-acre property with a dozen heifers and more on the way.

"Yeah, coyotes and hogs, too," Moore said. "It's a lot of different animals you see through there, and I've got to try to protect my herd."

That's not dissimilar to what Moore's doing right now.

The veteran receiver is looking after his herd again these days, but instead of cows and calves, it's young wideouts Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and Jonathan Mingo. Moore's the guy who can help them through these dangerous days and protect them from the coyotes out there who mean them harm.

"That's just the veteran rule," you know, Moore said with a grin. "So just looking at the youngest man, they did it for me when I was a rookie and a young guy trying to come in and make it, and I feel like I've got to return that."

For Moore, it was guys like Seahawks receivers Doug Baldwin, Tyler Lockett, Jermaine Kearse, and Paul Richardson, who put their arms around him when he was a seventh-round rookie in 2017 and tried to share what they had learned, like the keys to longevity in the league.

"They talked a lot about taking care of your body; as a youngin I didn't, you know what I mean?" Moore said. "As a young guy, you're just out there running all day, and injuries catch up with you, but as long as you stay on top of your body, you can be in this league as long as you want."

He nodded toward Legette as he said it, knowing the first-round rookie is beginning to recognize the grind of the season, eight games in. "He's feeling it," Moore said with a laugh.

But that's why Moore's here, to look after his herd, on and off the field.

He and Legette have that country vibe in common, and last Friday night, the two of them drove to Albemarle to watch a rodeo. Both have experience with livestock, but Moore has plenty of things to share and serves as a daily example.

"I mean David Moore, he comes with energy every day, man," Legette said. "He gives us that spark in the receivers room."

And that spark is handy now, with the offense in a transitional phase after the trade of Diontae Johnson and the recent quarterback changes caused by Andy Dalton's car wreck. All those things happened while Adam Thielen was coming back from his own injury, leaving Moore to look after the herd.

"It's huge for those guys," Canales said of Moore's influence on young receivers. "It's the things that happen from the time you get up from the time you come into the building before practice — body readiness, mental readiness, all those things, the attention to detail and focus it requires to have success in this league. Those guys are huge examples for that group."

And if Moore has proven anything in his career, it's that he has the ability to prepare to be ready at a moment's notice and that he's trustworthy. That's why Canales keeps bringing him places. Moore wasn't one of the more heralded free agent signings in March, but bringing him here was on purpose.

For a coach trying to implement a new program here, being dependable is a must, and being able to share that knowledge with younger players is a key. That was enough to justify bringing Moore back here for his second stint. Previous GM Scott Fitterer, who was also in Seattle when Moore was drafted in the seventh round in 2017, signed Moore as a free agent in 2021, but Moore didn't make the final 53-man roster that year.

Since then, Moore's career has been a bit of a journey, one that left him wondering if it was time to become a coach or just live on his Gainesville, Tex. ranch.

After being cut by the Panthers in 2021 (it was a top-heavy room at the time, with DJ Moore and Robby Anderson), he spent some time on the Raiders practice squad, was signed by the Broncos, but was later cut and signed back to Denver's practice squad before being released again, and signing with Green Bay's practice squad, getting in one game late that year.

The following spring, he signed with the Bears, but a knee injury in training camp knocked him out of the mix there and out of the league for the rest of the season. It was an MCL injury, and as he rehabbed, he wondered if he was done.

"It was humbling for sure, having to go out there and really try to figure it out on your own," Moore said. "Instead of coming in to getting drafted to Seattle and having some great people there help me out and show me the way and then having to do it on my own for a second there, it'll get you down; it got me down a little bit. But I stayed true to my faith, kept my head high, and tried to keep my best foot forward and keep pushing. I've never been the quitting type, so I just had to stick it out.

"I didn't want to go out like that, but I kind of went through a little phase there where I didn't want to come back to play. I thought about it. I wanted to go straight to coaching, and I was like, nah, I'm going to finish; I'm going to see really what I can endure and put myself through."

It took him some time to recover from the MCL, and he was out of the league for the rest of 2022. So, he wasn't sure if the phone was ever going to ring again.

But one night during the spring of 2023, shortly after Canales got the offensive coordinator job in Tampa, it did ring. So after talking coyotes and the herd, Canales pitched him on another chance. No promises, but another opportunity in a familiar system.

Moore didn't make the Bucs roster coming out of training camp that year, but he hung around on the practice squad in Tampa, in part by being a known commodity. That's kind of the same situation he walked into here this year, making versatility a must, along with being able to pick things up quickly.

When some injuries hit the Bucs late in 2023, Moore made a few plays down the stretch, including a 52-yard touchdown against the Packers in December and a 44-yard score against the Eagles in the playoffs. He's always had big-play ability, and stood out in camp this year, making one-handed grabs, and catching deep balls routinely.

"Same as always, stay ready, so when you're called upon, you can produce," Moore said simply, shrugging when asked about those. It's what he does.

He has 92 career catches in seven seasons but a 14.6 yards per catch average. He also had a season-high four receptions last week in Denver, during a week when they only had four active receivers. Coupled with the special teams ability and his value as a mentor, he's continuing to play his part for Canales and the Panthers.

"Same as I did when I came in then, I just come in and try to be just one of the guys," he said. "Be a part of the group and just try to help out as much as I can. I should play my role and do what I can. You know, do your job, and the rest takes care of itself.

"I don't really look at it as trying to be a No. 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5; I just try to be one of the guys."

Of course, he also knows the coyotes are out there, and he's got a herd to protect. That makes him more valuable than ever.