Don’t tick off MossNot tagging mercurial WR was the safe play for Pats

By Karen Guregian Sunday, February 24, 2008 http://www.bostonherald.com N.E. Patriots

INDIANAPOLIS - With a couple of days to digest that the Patriots [team stats] did not franchise Randy Moss, leaving him available to all suitors come Friday, more theories are floating around as to Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli’s possible motives.
Why would they leave Moss exposed, even if they have a deal in place or are nearing one?
A popular view is this: They simply didn’t want to tick him off.
While you’d franchise just about anyone else in this situation, Moss is a different animal. He’s a 10-year veteran. He’s already earned a ton of money in his career. He’s also proved to be somewhat temperamental.
The Patriots handled him perfectly this season, knew which buttons to push and which ones to avoid.
Why flip on the anger switch now? Why risk ruining a good thing?
It’s no secret that players don’t like being tagged at any time, even if it’s with the intention of working toward a long-term deal.
Of course, had the Pats assigned the franchise designation to Moss, they would have secured valuable protection against having some team whisper in his ear about a deal that would trump what Belichick and Pioli have in mind.
Technically, they can’t sign Moss until Friday when free agency officially opens. It appears the Pats are counting on having an unruffled Moss either make good on a deal they have in place or continue to hash out a deal that’s in progress.
Sirius NFL Radio host Solomon Wilcots thinks that scenario makes sense.
“I can see them not wanting to give him the impression that they plan to keep his rights without giving him a long-term deal,” Wilcots said yesterday at the NFL combine. “I think there are certain considerations per Randy Moss, understanding that he’s a prolific player. Players of his caliber who make a huge impact, it does matter in terms of how you make that player feel. There’s no doubt they’ve tried to help him feel comfortable becoming a Patriot in terms of how they do things. I think they’ve gone the extra mile, there’s no doubt about that.
“I can see where it’s plausible where you don’t want to put the tag on him. So I think they’re either going to extend him to a long-term deal, make him happy there or make him happy by allowing him to go on the market.”
Moss’ teammates can’t fathom losing him. A week after the Super Bowl, Rodney Harrison [stats], who was at an autograph signing, made bringing Moss back sound like a no-brainer.
“If you have any type of common sense or sanity, you’d want Randy Moss to come back. He’s a tremendous player, a great teammate,” Harrison said. “He played unselfish. He made plays and he worked extremely hard to improve his image and be one of the leaders in the locker room. You always want good people around you.”
Still, the Pats are running a risk if Moss arrives on Friday without a deal in place and hits the open market.
“To me, if he hits the market, the cement is dry. I don’t think you can put the genie back in the bottle at that point. The money is going to be out there,” Wilcots said. “There are so many teams that are going to have significant money under the (salary) cap, so there will be a huge market for Randy Moss.”
But is allowing Moss to hit the open market a bigger risk than placing the franchise tag on him? How would he have reacted to playing under a one-year deal for $7.85 million had a long-term agreement not been reached? Would Moss continue to be a model citizen?
The Pats perhaps weren’t willing to find out.
“I’ve just got to believe they have an understanding,” Wilcots said. “I’ve got to believe with the season he had, with what he did for that offense, they want to keep him around and keep Tom Brady [stats] happy by keeping the best weapon he’s had in his career to throw to.
“We saw that offense go to another level (with Moss). Sometimes it was unstoppable. It makes no sense to take the biggest part of that equation out of the offense.”Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1075608