Brando19
04-01-2007, 01:33 PM
The company line holds that all is well with wide receiver Randy Moss even as contact between the wide receiver and his new coach has been limited and the Raiders appear poised to go on with him or without him.
First-year coach Lane Kiffin has given enough mixed signals to indicate that Moss is on the market, while at the same time keeping the door open in case the Raiders can't find a bid they deem worthy.
"As of right now, he's on our roster and I'm looking forward to working with him," Kiffin said at the NFL owner's meetings in Phoenix, Ariz. "There'll be a number of situations that may come up with him, just like a number of our players, in trades or whatever it is, final decisions will be made, (and) we'll make them at that time."
While the Raiders have toiled n Alameda during their voluntary off-season workout period, which Kiffin said has had a 90 percent attendance rate, Moss has stayed away.
Kiffin said he didn't think it was all that unusual that a new coach had been limited to one brief conversation with his highest paid and most high-profile player.
"There hasn't been anything from that time to this time that has been pressing," Kiffin said. "Obviously we'll have more conversations coming up and I'll look forward to working with him."
Kiffin, of course, is not in a position to speak negatively of his highest-paid player even if he wants Moss elsewhere.
Dealing Moss would represent a salary cap savings of nearly $8 million, although the Raiders could maneuver their way into signing the No. 1 pick in the draft (which they own by virtue of their 2-14 record) even if he stayed aboard.
Moss caught 42 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns, all career lows, in 13 games for the Raiders. In 2005, Moss had 60 receptions for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns.
But unlike the previous year, when groin, rib and pelvis injuries were a factor, Moss seemed perfectly healthy until an ankle injury sidelined him for the last three games.
With Moss still on the roster, Kiffin offered his best defense of a player who seemed to give up down the stretch.
"I saw a player at times who made some very aborted plays and was not playing to the standard I'd want," Kiffin said. "But I wasn't there, and I won't make a judgment on that. I think he was very frustrated, going through some games where he had two balls thrown to him in 65 plays, and you're behind.
"Sometimes, that's not bad (being frustrated). You get a player who is not frustrated, and you wonder if he's competitive."
First-year coach Lane Kiffin has given enough mixed signals to indicate that Moss is on the market, while at the same time keeping the door open in case the Raiders can't find a bid they deem worthy.
"As of right now, he's on our roster and I'm looking forward to working with him," Kiffin said at the NFL owner's meetings in Phoenix, Ariz. "There'll be a number of situations that may come up with him, just like a number of our players, in trades or whatever it is, final decisions will be made, (and) we'll make them at that time."
While the Raiders have toiled n Alameda during their voluntary off-season workout period, which Kiffin said has had a 90 percent attendance rate, Moss has stayed away.
Kiffin said he didn't think it was all that unusual that a new coach had been limited to one brief conversation with his highest paid and most high-profile player.
"There hasn't been anything from that time to this time that has been pressing," Kiffin said. "Obviously we'll have more conversations coming up and I'll look forward to working with him."
Kiffin, of course, is not in a position to speak negatively of his highest-paid player even if he wants Moss elsewhere.
Dealing Moss would represent a salary cap savings of nearly $8 million, although the Raiders could maneuver their way into signing the No. 1 pick in the draft (which they own by virtue of their 2-14 record) even if he stayed aboard.
Moss caught 42 passes for 553 yards and three touchdowns, all career lows, in 13 games for the Raiders. In 2005, Moss had 60 receptions for 1,005 yards and eight touchdowns.
But unlike the previous year, when groin, rib and pelvis injuries were a factor, Moss seemed perfectly healthy until an ankle injury sidelined him for the last three games.
With Moss still on the roster, Kiffin offered his best defense of a player who seemed to give up down the stretch.
"I saw a player at times who made some very aborted plays and was not playing to the standard I'd want," Kiffin said. "But I wasn't there, and I won't make a judgment on that. I think he was very frustrated, going through some games where he had two balls thrown to him in 65 plays, and you're behind.
"Sometimes, that's not bad (being frustrated). You get a player who is not frustrated, and you wonder if he's competitive."