bosfan said:
Wondered if it was in the Branch ballpark? I don't ever remember seeing Branch display the kind of after catch moves like Moss has the last couple of weeks. I like Branch, it is just that I'm trying to understand the performance levels that receivers can achieve - maybe you pay for a "Difference Maker" at that position like you pay for the same at QB or DL etc. - but otherwise you don't. Just thinking out loud.....
Moss signed his 6 year $31M deal with Washington in May of 2005 but it was in the ballpark of what Branch got - and also in the ballpark of what we offered when you remove the voidable 6th year. Here are some details on his deal and others signed prior to Wayne's deal in March 2006 from an old Washington Post piece:
"Moss, acquired in a trade earlier this offseason with the New York Jets for wide receiver Laveranues Coles, said he had been staying away from Redskins Park on the advice of agent Drew Rosenhaus.
Moss said he was so anxious about being at Redskins Park that he even prodded Rosenhaus to make a deal and end his unofficial holdout: "It [the holdout] was real awkward. I wish we didn't have to go that route, but it's behind us."
Moss had been scheduled to become a free agent after this season when he was scheduled to make $540,000.
Moss's contract all but officially makes him Washington's top wide receiver. The extension could be voided after five years if Moss plays at least 45 percent of the offensive snaps in any year between 2006 and 2010. Thus, the deal likely will end up worth $26.5 million over five years. The first two years are structured to give Moss the equivalent of guarantees worth $11 million.
Moss's contract is richer than deals signed this offseason by other wide receivers such as Oakland's Jerry Porter (five years, $21 million, including $7 million guaranteed) and Plaxico Burress, who signed for six years and $25 million with the New York Giants, with $8.25 million guaranteed. But Moss's contract stops just short of the one signed by Pro Bowler Muhsin Muhammad, who signed a six-year, $30-million deal with the Chicago Bears, including $12 million in guarantees. "
Again though, it is easier to tear up a remaining deal on a rookie deal when you trade for a player than if you are retaining him. And in this case it was a swap for Coles who bolted in FA the year before but the JETS wanted back because of chemistry with Pennington. The JETS couldn't afford to sign either and got their preference of the two back without having to absorb a signing bonus for either.
