Stoney
02-22-2008, 11:28 AM
http://www.projo.com/patriots/content/sp_fbn_combine22_02-22-08_6L93T65_v8.32d778b.html
INDIANAPOLIS — The New England Patriots did not designate receiver Randy Moss as their franchise player by yesterday’s 4 p.m. deadline, but the move may not have been made because it won’t be necessary.
The feeling here is that Moss and the Patriots are close to a long-term deal and he won’t test the free agent market.
When New England acquired Moss in a draft-day deal last April, he signed a one-year contract with incentives that marked a significant pay cut for the veteran wideout compared to what he was due to make with his previous club, Oakland.
Moss came to the Patriots and returned to his previous impressive form, with 98 catches for 1,493 yards and a league-record 23 touchdowns. He also was praised as a great teammate, and did not cause any ripples save for the restraining order a Florida woman filed against him during the playoffs.
If the Pats have come to a multi-year agreement with Moss, it cannot be announced until Feb. 29, the first day of the new NFL year.
Tom Brady has made no secret of his fondness for Moss as a teammate, and said at the Super Bowl earlier this month that he figures he has at least 10 more seasons left in him and would like to have Moss with him for as many of those as possible. Brady was not happy when the Pats traded Deion Branch to Seattle, and then replaced the former Super Bowl MVP with Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel; clearly, it is in New England’s best interests to keep the best quarterback in the game happy.
Moss agreed to the trade from the Raiders to the Pats — which netted Oakland just a fourth-round pick — for the chance to play with Brady and play for a Super Bowl championship, the one thing missing from his résumés.
He did get to play in is first Super Bowl, catching the go-ahead touchdown for the Patriots with less than three minutes to play, but after the Giants’ upset win he said New York had the better game plan and after such a loss “the only thing you can do is lick your wounds and try to come back at it next year.”
Had New England franchised Moss, he would have gotten a one-year contract for a guaranteed $7.85 million. When teams designate a franchise player, they have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with him. Otherwise the player signs the tender and the sides can’t meet again until after the season concludes.
INDIANAPOLIS — The New England Patriots did not designate receiver Randy Moss as their franchise player by yesterday’s 4 p.m. deadline, but the move may not have been made because it won’t be necessary.
The feeling here is that Moss and the Patriots are close to a long-term deal and he won’t test the free agent market.
When New England acquired Moss in a draft-day deal last April, he signed a one-year contract with incentives that marked a significant pay cut for the veteran wideout compared to what he was due to make with his previous club, Oakland.
Moss came to the Patriots and returned to his previous impressive form, with 98 catches for 1,493 yards and a league-record 23 touchdowns. He also was praised as a great teammate, and did not cause any ripples save for the restraining order a Florida woman filed against him during the playoffs.
If the Pats have come to a multi-year agreement with Moss, it cannot be announced until Feb. 29, the first day of the new NFL year.
Tom Brady has made no secret of his fondness for Moss as a teammate, and said at the Super Bowl earlier this month that he figures he has at least 10 more seasons left in him and would like to have Moss with him for as many of those as possible. Brady was not happy when the Pats traded Deion Branch to Seattle, and then replaced the former Super Bowl MVP with Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel; clearly, it is in New England’s best interests to keep the best quarterback in the game happy.
Moss agreed to the trade from the Raiders to the Pats — which netted Oakland just a fourth-round pick — for the chance to play with Brady and play for a Super Bowl championship, the one thing missing from his résumés.
He did get to play in is first Super Bowl, catching the go-ahead touchdown for the Patriots with less than three minutes to play, but after the Giants’ upset win he said New York had the better game plan and after such a loss “the only thing you can do is lick your wounds and try to come back at it next year.”
Had New England franchised Moss, he would have gotten a one-year contract for a guaranteed $7.85 million. When teams designate a franchise player, they have until July 15 to work out a long-term deal with him. Otherwise the player signs the tender and the sides can’t meet again until after the season concludes.