- Joined
- Mar 25, 2005
- Messages
- 19,929
- Reaction score
- 3
It is possible the Patriots didn't guarantee all of his contract - or sign him to a six year deal - because they saw red flags concerning his character but it is even more likely that they didn't do either one of those because of his age more so than any other factor.
The premise of your argument is ridiculous in that you think Belichick and Pioli changed their offer because Moss shopped himself around. I doubt Belichick would take such a slight so personally that he would allow it to determine how they do business, especially if it would jeopardize their opportunity to take care of offseason priority number one.
Actually they did change their offer because he shopped himself. Only the change was to increase both the signing bonus and guaranteed money. Michael Smith talked to the Eagles about thrie involvement over the weekend:
"A league source familiar with the negotiations said that the Eagles were in fact negotiating with Randy Moss before he re-signed with the Patriots. When the Patriots decided not to use the franchise tag on Moss, the Eagles were like a lot people in assuming New England was working on deal with Moss and was a lock to retain him. But when word got around that there wasn't a deal and Moss was open to talking to other teams, the Eagles decided to throw their hat in the ring, though they always believed themselves to be a long shot.
Philadelphia first contacted Moss either late Saturday night or early Sunday. The Eagles offered Moss a $15 million signing bonus as part of a four-year, $36 million package. But they knew the only way they would beat out New England for his services was to blow the Patriots completely out of the water. Ultimately, the Patriots stepped up their offer and obviously Moss accepted."
-- ESPN.com's Michael Smith
Reportedly Moss told the Eagles when he declined their offer it was because he wanted to remain with Tom Brady.