Report: Moss restructures
UPDATE: It appears the "restructuring" of the Santana Moss and Adam Carriker contracts are a bit unusual. Rather than kicking money down the road, which is normal, but unwise in these situations, the money has been converted into incentive bonuses. In other words, both players lost guaranteed money -- $2 million in the case of Moss. They can still get that money back, but will have to meet performance incentives to do so. Obviously, those are very favorable terms for the Redskins and I assume they obtained them by threatening to cut the players outright. In other words, the Redskins got the salary cap space they needed this year without creating a "dead money" issue in the years to come. Nicely done.
David Elfin is reporting Washington Redskins WR Santana Moss has restructured his contract, allowing him to remain with the team in 2013 and slice another $2 million off Washington's cap figure, as the team struggles to get as far under the salary cap as possible.
Moss,33, signed a 3-year/$15 million contract in 2011 and has given the team almost 1700 yards and 10 TD receptions in that time. He is now strictly a backup and a slot receiver, but after a poor and injury-filled 2011, Moss thrived in his new role in 2012, catching 7 touchdowns and becoming a key third down, short-yardage threat for rookie QB Robert Griffin III.
The Redskins have been correctly reluctant to restructure contracts during the Allen-Shanahan era, understanding that pushing paydays off into the future creates "dead money" problems and loads a team up with aging veterans who should be enjoying their retirement. It appears the Redskins have made an exception for Moss because he's still a productive player and they think he can help the team for at least one more season. In addition, the Redskins needed to reduce Moss' cap figure this year to be able to sign their own draft picks and maybe a new free agent or two.
Moss has been a popular figure in Washington since coming to the team from the New York Jets in a 2005 trade that sent Laveranues Coles out of town. If I were a betting man -- which I'm not -- I'd wager most Redskins fans are happy to have Moss back for at least one more season.
