Tom Brady may be getting a new contract. Randy Moss wants a piece of that pie, too. William Bendetson of CBSsports.com talked to the receiver this week. Here's how the conversation went, at least in my head.
Bendetson: "Are you looking for a big check from Mr. Kraft, Randy?"
Moss: "When you're rich, you don't write checks."
Bendetson: "What do you want from the Patriots?"
Moss: "Straight cash, homey."
Bendetson: "Randy, are you upset with your current contract?"
Moss: "No, cause it ain't s---. Ain't nothing but $6.4 million. What's $6.4 million to me?"
I wish that actually happened. Sadly, it didn't. But here's an actual excerpt from Bendetson's piece:
Moss, 33, entering the final year of a three-year deal, is scheduled to earn $6.4 million this season and said he thinks he deserves a new pact based on his production the past two seasons.
"When you have done so much and put so much work in, it kind of feels like I am not wanted," Moss said in an exclusive interview with CBSSports.com. "I am taking that in stride and playing my final year out and whatever the future holds is what it holds, but it is kind of a bad feeling -- feeling not wanted. It is not like my production has gone down. I am speaking from an individual standpoint. I don't know about
Tom [Brady's] or whoever else's contract."
Moss wants more money. Don't we all. But it's not surprising, considering the looming labor conflict.
"I am a little older and understand the nature of the business -- the older you get the more your skills supposedly diminish, but I think I am getting wiser in how to use my physical skills. That's the frustrating part when you put so much heart and desire into things and feel like you are not wanted."
What's also not surprising is the reaction from the Stonecutters, I mean Patriots. From ESPN Boston:
During a Tuesday afternoon teleconference with reporters, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said that Moss had never indicated to him he does not feel wanted in New England and said the receiver is "well liked" and "well-respected on the team."
"I'd just say, on Randy, he's professional and had a good training camp. He's played very well since he's been here," Belichick said. "He's played at a very high level. I hope that continues. He's brought a lot of passion for the game since he's been here."
He's good and he's great and he's had a good training camp and he's played well and he's played at a high level and he's a good player. We get it. But seriously, what do people expect at this point? To Belichick, contract talk is an unbreakable taboo.