Moss will be free agent after his stellar season
ASHBURN – The attention flattered Santana Moss. It also served as frustration. Moss couldn’t do much about it, and when defenses doubled him they also took him out of the offense.
So the new coaching staff moved him to the slot. They sent him in motion. They combated any extra attention he received.
Moss enters the season finale having already tied his career best with 84 receptions. And he has 1,041 yards and six touchdowns.
Now the extra attention Moss could get will come in the offseason, when he becomes a free agent. Not that he’s thinking about that right now, mind you.
| Redskins notes |
| » FS Kareem Moore will undergo surgery on his right knee Monday and has been placed on injured reserve. It’s the same knee that required surgery during training camp, causing him to miss a month. “It’s a setback enough to have surgery,” coach Mike Shanahan said. Moore missed the first two games of the season as well as last week. He was limited in one other game because of the knee. “He played hurt most of the season,” Shanahan said. “It’s nice to see somebody fight and work as hard as Kareem has done.” Moore injured his left knee in his first training camp with Washington in 2008. |
| » CB Carlos Rogers (calf) was the only player who did not participate in practice Wednesday. PR/KR Brandon Banks (knee), LB Brian Orakpo (groin/hamstring) and S Macho Harris (hip) all were limited. |
| » Shanahan said he did not expect the season to be so rocky. “I’m the head coach, so I take it very personal, and hopefully we’ll do much better in years to come,” he said. |
| » K Graham Gano was named the NFC special teams player of the week after making two field goals vs. Jacksonville, including the game-winning 31-yarder in overtime. |
“Hopefully I’ll be here,” he said. “I’m a Redskin right now. That’s all I pretty much care about. All the other stuff that happens is out of my control.”
Regardless, he’s shown that he’s a good fit for Kyle Shanahan’s offense. At 5-foot-10, Moss has good size in the slot, where he can use his shiftiness to get free. It’s also harder — but certainly not impossible — to double-team in the slot. Moss also goes in motion more than he had in the previous two seasons under Jim Zorn. Moss said he hasn’t played in the slot full-time since college.
“The routes inside, you can get open a little faster by putting a couple moves on that guy and getting him out of the break,” Moss said. “This offense is phenomenal when it comes to getting receivers the ball.”
The last two seasons he finished with 70 and 79 catches, respectively — and nine combined touchdowns. But when the Redskins hired Mike Shanahan and he brought in his son, Kyle, from Houston, Moss was excited. They were as well.
“When you got a guy who’s got that quickness and that talent and has the hands that he does, the football awareness, not scared of contact, then he can be a special player [in the slot],” Kyle Shanahan said.
This also will be the third straight season Moss has played in all 16 games. He had appeared in every regular season game only once in his first five years. However, he had been receiving treatment on his knee from Anthony Galea, who was arrested last year and accused with injecting athletes with HGH.
But twice a week, Moss receives a massage and sees a chiropractor. He also has a personal trainer — Moss says he’s a muscle specialist — who flies in from Atlanta to work with him twice a week
“I’m out there playing; it’s held up pretty good,” Moss said of his knee.
And Moss is playing well — just not well enough even to be named a Pro Bowl alternate.
“I don’t feel like a Pro Bowl can state who you are as a player,” Moss said.
He’s now fourth in Redskins history in career receptions (433) and fifth in receiving yards (6,068).
“I’ve always been a fan of his,” Kyle Shanahan said. “Since I got here I didn’t realize how good a player he is. He’s tough. He’s physical. He’s done a hell of a job for us.”
