Patriots Land R. Moss
The New England traded a fourth-round pick today to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Randy Moss.
The Raiders had shopped Moss around the league for much of the offseason, and the Patriots and Green Bay Packers emerged as the leading bidders. It was thought that the Raiders were seeking a second-round choice, and when the second round ended Saturday night without a trade being completed it appeared that Moss might stay put.
But the Patriots reportedly upped their offer from a sixth-round selection to a fourth-rounder in recent days, and the deal was completed today. Moss agreed to rework a contract that was to pay him $21 million over the next two seasons, $9.75 million next season and $11.25 million in 2008.
Moss spent two seasons with the Raiders after seven seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, and has averaged 75 catches for 1,189 yards and 11 touchdowns per season. But he's failed to reach 1,000 receiving yards in two of the past three seasons, and he had career lows of 42 catches for 553 yards and three touchdowns last season while the Raiders went 2-14.
According to a source familiar with the deliberations, the Patriots told Moss that they would get rid of him at the first sign of disruptive behavior and Moss agreed to renegotiate his contract because he thought he could win a Super Bowl with quarterback Tom Brady in New England.
The Patriots have signed linebacker Adalius Thomas, cornerback Tory James, tight end Kyle Brady and wide receivers Donte Stallworth and Kelley Washington as free agents. They traded for Miami Dolphins wideout and kick returner Wes Welker.
People around the league say that Coach Bill Belichick always has greatly admired Moss's talent, and the Patriots may have been emboldened in their pursuit of Moss by the positive experience they had with tailback Corey Dillon. He had a reputation as a troublemaker while with the Cincinnati Bengals but was a solid contributor the last three seasons for the Patriots before being released this offseason, probably on his way to retiring.
By Mark Maske |
April 29, 2007; 2:00 PM ET
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Posted by: NinersFan | April 30, 2007 10:16 AM
It's been a good off-season for the Pats after the disasterous second half against the Geldings. This acquisition means a starting offense that consists of an offensive line returning whole, Brady, Ben Watson at TE, wideouts Moss and Stallworth, Welker in the slot, and Maroney in the backfield. Add to this solid veterans Faulk, Brady, Brown, Caldwell, and Morris and youngsters Thomas and Johnson and the Pats look potentially dominant on offense.
This goes along with a defense that was 3rd in the league in scoring defense last season, the addition of Thomas at linebacker, Merriweather at safety and nickel, and hopefully the healthy return of Harrison, Gay, and Wilson and we have fewer holes than any other team out there. Really though, we're only looking at 4 or 5 new starters from last year and each of those is an upgrade from 2006, especially at receiver.
And we picked up an additional 1st round pick and 3rd round pick next season. I know nothing of college football but some commentators spoke of a stronger draft class next year.
These are the things you can do when you are almost $30 million below the cap. Fill in quality around a core signed long term. Sorry for the long post. Most Redskins fans don't care about this (until week 8 anyway), but I'm just so damn happy.
Posted by: Pats Fan | April 30, 2007 2:54 PM
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Wow. Looks like they are trying to buy a championship like we did in '94.