motife
03-15-2007, 06:33 PM
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/sports/index.php?ntid=123784&ntpid=1
Packers: Deal for Moss isn't done
JASON WILDE
March 15, 2007
The Green Bay Packers may very well end up trading for Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss, but the deal didn't go down Thursday. Nor will it happen Friday, according to several NFL sources contacted in the wake of a report that a deal was imminent.
Citing "a source in Wisconsin," the Boston Herald reported on its Web site Thursday morning that the Packers and Raiders were "on the verge of announcing a trade that would send the troubled receiver to Green Bay in exchange for backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers."
Packers general manager Ted Thompson was traveling to a college workout on Thursday, but he issued a terse statement through a team spokesman: "We dismiss this report as wild speculation."
According to the Herald report, the Raiders were also to receive seventh-round pick in 2008, while the Packers would receive Raiders tight end Courtney Anderson as part of the deal. The Packers would also get a conditional pick from the Raiders in the 2009 draft that would be based on Rodgers' production in Oakland the next two seasons.
The report also stated Moss has agreed to restructure his contract, and that a news conference announcing the deal could be held as early as today. Later in the day, the report was updated to say that a source close to Rodgers adamantly denied the rumor.
The Moss-for-Rodgers trade has also been rumored on the Web site profootballtalk.com for several weeks.
Rodgers said when reached on his cell phone that he had been advised not to comment. But Rodgers did say no one from the Packers called him Thursday to reassure him he was not going to be traded, and that the only calls he received were from "interested friends."
Asked at the team's annual Fan Fest last weekend whether Rodgers was the Packers' quarterback of the future, Thompson replied, "Yes. Absolutely."
Asked about the report, Moss' agent, Tim DiPiero, said, "There is a lot of speculation out there. I can't say one way or another (if it's going to happen)."
According to another source, the Packers were surprised by the report.
"We have absolutely no idea where this came from," the source said. "There's nothing to it."
However, that source confirmed the Packers have been discussing a trade for Moss for some time. Nonetheless, there's no reason to believe a deal is close.
The seed of the Moss-to-Green Bay talk was planted by agent Bus Cook, who represents Packers quarterback Brett Favre and shares Moss as a client with DiPiero. Cook has been quoted several times saying Favre would love to have Moss on his team.
Moss, who turned 30 on Feb. 13, was the most feared big-play receiver in football. In his first six NFL seasons, all with Minnesota, Moss was didn't miss a game and averaged 88 catches for 1396 yards and 12.8 touchdowns per year.
But in his last three seasons, his last with the Vikings in 2004 and his two with the Raiders, Moss has averaged just 50 catches, 775 yards and eight TDs. In 2006, Moss caught just 42 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games.
Packers: Deal for Moss isn't done
JASON WILDE
March 15, 2007
The Green Bay Packers may very well end up trading for Oakland Raiders wide receiver Randy Moss, but the deal didn't go down Thursday. Nor will it happen Friday, according to several NFL sources contacted in the wake of a report that a deal was imminent.
Citing "a source in Wisconsin," the Boston Herald reported on its Web site Thursday morning that the Packers and Raiders were "on the verge of announcing a trade that would send the troubled receiver to Green Bay in exchange for backup quarterback Aaron Rodgers."
Packers general manager Ted Thompson was traveling to a college workout on Thursday, but he issued a terse statement through a team spokesman: "We dismiss this report as wild speculation."
According to the Herald report, the Raiders were also to receive seventh-round pick in 2008, while the Packers would receive Raiders tight end Courtney Anderson as part of the deal. The Packers would also get a conditional pick from the Raiders in the 2009 draft that would be based on Rodgers' production in Oakland the next two seasons.
The report also stated Moss has agreed to restructure his contract, and that a news conference announcing the deal could be held as early as today. Later in the day, the report was updated to say that a source close to Rodgers adamantly denied the rumor.
The Moss-for-Rodgers trade has also been rumored on the Web site profootballtalk.com for several weeks.
Rodgers said when reached on his cell phone that he had been advised not to comment. But Rodgers did say no one from the Packers called him Thursday to reassure him he was not going to be traded, and that the only calls he received were from "interested friends."
Asked at the team's annual Fan Fest last weekend whether Rodgers was the Packers' quarterback of the future, Thompson replied, "Yes. Absolutely."
Asked about the report, Moss' agent, Tim DiPiero, said, "There is a lot of speculation out there. I can't say one way or another (if it's going to happen)."
According to another source, the Packers were surprised by the report.
"We have absolutely no idea where this came from," the source said. "There's nothing to it."
However, that source confirmed the Packers have been discussing a trade for Moss for some time. Nonetheless, there's no reason to believe a deal is close.
The seed of the Moss-to-Green Bay talk was planted by agent Bus Cook, who represents Packers quarterback Brett Favre and shares Moss as a client with DiPiero. Cook has been quoted several times saying Favre would love to have Moss on his team.
Moss, who turned 30 on Feb. 13, was the most feared big-play receiver in football. In his first six NFL seasons, all with Minnesota, Moss was didn't miss a game and averaged 88 catches for 1396 yards and 12.8 touchdowns per year.
But in his last three seasons, his last with the Vikings in 2004 and his two with the Raiders, Moss has averaged just 50 catches, 775 yards and eight TDs. In 2006, Moss caught just 42 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns in 13 games.