POSTED 10:37 p.m. EDT; LAST UPDATED 11:31 p.m. EDT, April 30, 2007
NEW ENGLAND WAS RANDY'S FIRST TARGET
In a release posted on his official web site, former Raiders receiver Randy Moss makes clear that his first choice for a new home was the place where he eventually landed -- the New England Patriots.
“Several weeks ago, when the Raiders first gave Randy permission to talk to other teams about a possible trade, the first team contacted was New England," said agent Tim DiPiero in the release. "Randy wanted to find a team with an established quarterback and coach, a team with a need at wide receiver and most importantly a team with a good chance of going to the Super Bowl. When you consider the genius of Coach Belichick, the brilliance of Tom Brady, a first class organization with the record of the Patriots which arguably had a need at wide receiver, New England was the natural spot."
As we reported on Sunday, it was an unexpected move by Moss to slash his 2007 salary by more than $6 million that finally got New England's attention on Saturday night.
The remarks from DiPiero also reveal that Moss had been on the market for weeks, and the release calls into question reports from Wisconsin suggesting that the Packers spurned Moss and not the other way around.
The Wisconsin State Journal suggests that Moss would have been willing to cut his pay to the same amount that he'll receive in 2007 from the Patriots, and that the deal fell apart only because Green Bay G.M. Ted Thompson would not give up more than a fifth-rounder, even though it's now confirmed that the Packers initially offered (as we had heard) a fourth-rounder for Moss.
The key difference, in our view, is the concession by the WSJ that the Packers wanted a two-year deal. All other things equal, a one-year contract is far better for Moss, since it gives him a chance to rehab his image and hit the cap-crazy free-agent market in March 2008.
So we're not buying -- for a nanosecond -- the notion that the Packers left Moss at the alter. In reality, the guy who once gave a fake moon to the Lambeau Field faithful finally showed his bare butt to the front office.
