Moulds...Pats supposedly have inquired

[tedster822]

I found this note on Eric Moulds at the bottom of Nick Cafardo's article
____
The Patriots have made an informal initial inquiry on Buffalo wide receiver Eric Moulds, who has been given permission to seek a trade after the former All-Pro wouldn't take a paycut
___
http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2006/03/23/its_all_good_for_vinatieri/

ted

 

[Pats726]

Heard this as well..if they can settle on a draft pick..3rs maybe andd have Moulds for OK money..it'll be quite a good move!! If Moulds still wants mega-cash..no deal!!

 

[richpats]

Get this done BB! He is our 2006 version of Rodney Harrison! He's never won a playoff game his whole career! He's made his money now he wants a RING!

Seriously, we do need Moulds. If Troy Brown bolts for the Jets (???) then we've lost roughly 40% of Brady's production this offseason (DG, Dwight, Brown, Fauria, Davis).

 

[BelichickFan]

Unless there's several teams involved, a #3 sounds way too high considering the Bills have to take the best offer or cut him (unless they want to carry an unhappy guy with a huge cap number). Maybe we would have to pay a premium, being in the same division, but Moulds will be gone by the time the Bills will be competitive. Also I bet the Patriots are staggering a little having traded a #2, #3, #5 for what looks to be one good year of Dillion along with the washouts of Starks and Andre Davis. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd do more than our high #5.

 

[dryheat44]

Heard this as well..if they can settle on a draft pick..3rs maybe andd have Moulds for OK money..it'll be quite a good move!! If Moulds still wants mega-cash..no deal!!

I don't see why we would trade for him (assuming the Bills would trade him within the division). If he's chasing dollars, he's not going to re-negotiate a contract with the Pats, which will be necessary before acquiring him.

If he's not chasing dollars, and is interested in playing for the Pats, let him go to free agency and save the draft pick. Then we'll make our best offer. The Bills really have no choice but to release him at some point.

If another team trades for him and successfully re-negotiates a contract with Moulds, so be it. At that point,we weren't going to get him anyway.

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

Only if he renegotiates first am I interested because I believe he's due $8-10mil for this year and that is out of the question.

 

[Lamanai]

Only if he renegotiates first am I interested because I believe he's due $8-10mil for this year and that is out of the question.

Actually, per the NFLPA its $6.1 million. Still a lot.

Moulds, Eric

2006 6089000.00
2007 7250000.00

 

[richpats]

I think the Bills' FO is so incompetent we'll probably pull a Dillon-like trade.

 

[richpats]

Moulds' contract situation will be a delicate one considering Deion Branch. We offered Givens $3.5M/year for a #2, but Moulds is a #1 that would be coming in to play #2. I wouldn't imagine Branch is offered more than $4.5M/year on his extension, so I think $4M/year for Moulds will be our offer (if we make one).

 

[Pats726]

I agree it is delicate...must be handled correctly..and I will let BB/SP do their best to either trade for him, wait and to handle it correctly. I will always defer to them in getting it done and knowing when/if it may not be. But given the Pats situation..it would be nice.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I don't see why we would trade for him (assuming the Bills would trade him within the division). If he's chasing dollars, he's not going to re-negotiate a contract with the Pats, which will be necessary before acquiring him.

If he's not chasing dollars, and is interested in playing for the Pats, let him go to free agency and save the draft pick. Then we'll make our best offer. The Bills really have no choice but to release him at some point.

If another team trades for him and successfully re-negotiates a contract with Moulds, so be it. At that point,we weren't going to get him anyway.

If ALL the teams play hardball, indeed the Bills will have no choice but to release him at some point. But seeing as we need a good #2 (or in this case a #1b) WR we have to consider whether we take the chance of having another team come in for the trade.

I think a portion of Mould's salary is a roster bonus ($2 mill?) - but I don't know when that kicks in. That could be a triggering factor here - and it might require that the Bills actually pay it, as the alternative of cutting him would have the impact of causing a $5 mil salary cap hit.

Without a quid pro quo from Moulds on a renegotiated contract (and it IS in his interest to have a longer term contract than his current one) his trade value for the Bills is much lower. It would be a question of whether Moulds existing salary structure is appropriate for the short term, with the Bills paying his roster bonus and getting only a lower round pick in return.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

If ALL the teams play hardball, indeed the Bills will have no choice but to release him at some point. But seeing as we need a good #2 (or in this case a #1b) WR we have to consider whether we take the chance of having another team come in for the trade.

I think a portion of Mould's salary is a roster bonus ($2 mill?) - but I don't know when that kicks in. That could be a triggering factor here - and it might require that the Bills actually pay it, as the alternative of cutting him would have the impact of causing a $5 mil salary cap hit.

Without a quid pro quo from Moulds on a renegotiated contract (and it IS in his interest to have a longer term contract than his current one) his trade value for the Bills is much lower. It would be a question of whether Moulds existing salary structure is appropriate for the short term, with the Bills paying his roster bonus and getting only a lower round pick in return.

Local talk shows have mentioned that Moulds is due a $1MM reporting bonus just prior to the start of camp.

BTW the locals have caught wind of the Pats supposed interest in Moulds and want nothing of it.

As for me. Getting Moulds would be awesome for the Pats. The guy's still a tremendous football player. He'd be our 2nd best player on offense behind Brady. I can only imagine how good he'd be with a real QB tossing him the ball.

 

[BelichickFan]

BTW the locals have caught wind of the Pats supposed interest in Moulds and want nothing of it.

LMAO, Brady will probably be retired before the Bills need to worry about competition within the division. That said, there is definitely a perception problem with trading in your division.

 

[Garbanza]

If Troy Brown bolts for the Jets (???) then we've lost roughly 40% of Brady's production this offseason (DG, Dwight, Brown, Fauria, Davis).

First of all, Troy would not BOLT to the Jets - he would sign with them if no other team (including the Pats) did not make an offer. Second, the idea of long-time Patriot - 13, 14 year veteran Patriot, Troy Brown, in a puke green Jets uniform is enough to induce vomitting.

 

[Fanfrom1960]

Local talk shows have mentioned that Moulds is due a $1MM reporting bonus just prior to the start of camp.

BTW the locals have caught wind of the Pats supposed interest in Moulds and want nothing of it.

As for me. Getting Moulds would be awesome for the Pats. The guy's still a tremendous football player. He'd be our 2nd best player on offense behind Brady. I can only imagine how good he'd be with a real QB tossing him the ball.

Maybe because he'll be 33 when the 2006 season starts, and he'll want a lot of money? I'd say no, but WDIK?

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

Maybe because he'll be 33 when the 2006 season starts, and he'll want a lot of money? I'd say no, but WDIK?

33 or not he'd still be a vast improvement over Givens.

I don't know that anyone, but Moulds and his agent, truly knows how much $ he'd play for if the right situation presented itself.

 

[dryheat44]

33 or not he'd still be a vast improvement over Givens.

I don't know that anyone, but Moulds and his agent, truly knows how much $ he'd play for if the right situation presented itself.

I'm not sure I agree about the "Vast improvement over Givens" bit, since Lee Evans had relegated Moulds to #2 on the Bills, but that's neither here nor there.

Regarding your second paragraph, that's the beauty of the Bills allowing him to seek a trade....there is no tampering. The Pats can tell his agent (Cindrich?), "listen, we will give Moulds this contract. This is our best offer. We don't want to give Buffalo a draft pick that would otherwise improve our team. If Eric goes to free agency, we would love to have him here."

There's no need to make a trade. Either Moulds will come for the Patriots for that price, or if it's unacceptable, don't bother trading, since he won't agree to restructure for that amount.

 

[Bobs My Uncle]

I'm not sure I agree about the "Vast improvement over Givens" bit, since Lee Evans had relegated Moulds to #2 on the Bills, but that's neither here nor there.

Actually, Moulds caught 33 more balls than Evans did. And Moulds was in the teams doghouse for much of the season.

BTW, even on an off year for Moulds, his 81 catches last year was 22 more than Givens. And Moulds had crap for a QB (and has for almost all of his 10 year career) while Givens had the best in the league.

Moulds is a true #1 WR of elite status whereas Givens is a #2 WR. IMHO that is.

Regarding your second paragraph, that's the beauty of the Bills allowing him to seek a trade....there is no tampering. The Pats can tell his agent (Cindrich?), "listen, we will give Moulds this contract. This is our best offer. We don't want to give Buffalo a draft pick that would otherwise improve our team. If Eric goes to free agency, we would love to have him here."

Very astute point.

There's no need to make a trade. Either Moulds will come for the Patriots for that price, or if it's unacceptable, don't bother trading, since he won't agree to restructure for that amount.

Then again, it might benefit the Pats that the Bills hold tight and require that they get some form of trade value for Moulds!

Why? Well, you would quickly eliminate a bunch of teams that could compete financially moreso than the Pats if Moulds were cut and free and clear to sign with anybody. You'd also mitigate those teams who are in it simply to inflate his salary demands. As well, because the Pats have a surplus of draft picks at their disposal, they could conceivably be one of the few teams who would actually seriously consider relinquishing picks to get the 33 year old Moulds. With so few suitors the Pats might actually be able to get Moulds to lessen his financial demands simply to get the heck out of Buffalo and onto on SB contending team.

If the Bills are steadfast in their demands to only trade Moulds then the Pats might be the primary beneficiary as they might be one of the very few needy WR teams who are in best position to meet those demands.

 

[DaBruinz]

Get this done BB! He is our 2006 version of Rodney Harrison! He's never won a playoff game his whole career! He's made his money now he wants a RING!

Seriously, we do need Moulds. If Troy Brown bolts for the Jets (???) then we've lost roughly 40% of Brady's production this offseason (DG, Dwight, Brown, Fauria, Davis).

So, let me get this straight, Brady is only going to produce a 2500 yard season because of the losses of DG, Dwight, Brown, Fauria, and Davis?

That one of the most absurd things I have ever heard.

 

[DB15]

if the pats can get him for strictly draft picks that would be great

especailly with all the picks comming the pats way after the big three just left