Morgan Moses - Pro Football Rumors

AFC East Rumors: Patriots, Jets, Phillips

August 23rd, 2021 at 11:04pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Patriots‘ quarterback battle will tilt toward Mac Jones this week, by default. Cam Newton will not be permitted to practice with the team until Thursday. A COVID-19 issue will force the veteran quarterback to work virtually, according to the Patriots, who have called this a misunderstanding that stemmed from Newton traveling to a team-approved medical appointment outside Foxborough. Newton has not tested positive for the coronavirus, per the team, but an issue with his testing cadence caused this hiccup. Like Kirk Cousins and Lamar Jackson this month, Newton’s unvaccinated status has complicated matters for his team. Only unvaccinated players are tested daily; vaccinated players also are exempt from five-day isolation periods. One of the practices Newton will miss will be a joint workout with the Giants.

Until Monday, Jones had lined up with the Pats’ second-team offense, Mike Reiss of ESPN.com notes. This week certainly represents an opportunity for the first-round pick to gain ground. Both Newton and Jones played well in New England’s second preseason game, and OC Josh McDaniels said the 32-year-old incumbent remains the starter. The Pats have not named a Week 1 starter, however. Here is the latest from the AFC East:

Rather than give Jamal Adams a top-market contract, the Jets moved on via a blockbuster trade. It turns out, they were involved in a similar negotiation barely a year ago. Adams wanted to be the Jets’ highest-paid player and sought the $17.5MM-per-year figure — which would have surpassed C.J. Mosley‘s $17MM AAV — that he ended up getting from the Seahawks, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com notes. With the Broncos having yet to move Justin Simmons past the $15MM-AAV barrier, Adams’ ask was even farther beyond the safety salary range in 2020. Adams landing his Seattle extension last week, however, stands to benefit Marcus Maye in 2022. The Jets and Maye were not close on terms at July’s franchise tag deadline, pushing Adams’ former sidekick toward free agency next year.
Morgan Moses has not locked up the Jets’ right tackle job just yet, with Cimini adding that incumbent George Fant has pushed the longtime Washington starter. Fant has split first-team reps with Moses, with the team listing each as a starter on its depth chart. Fant started 14 Jets games at right tackle last year; Moses started every Washington game for the past six years at the position. Despite Moses’ superior resume, Fant is attached to a $9.1MM-per-year deal while Moses signed a one-year, $3.6MM pact after his Washington release. This is an interesting issue for the Jets to have, given their struggles up front over the past few years.
Bills defensive tackle Harrison Phillips seems to have both avoided a serious injury and run into a potentially problematic issue. The fourth-year D-lineman left Buffalo’s second preseason game with an injury NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport classified as not serious (Twitter link). Sean McDermott, however, said the injury is to the same knee that required ACL surgery in 2019. It does not look like Phillips is in danger of missing too much time, per McDermott, but this will be an issue for the Bills to monitor ahead of the rotational lineman’s contract year.
The Patriots attempted to interview Packers executive Chad Brinker this offseason, but Albert Breer of SI.com notes Green Bay blocked the move. The Pats wanted to meet with Brinker about a job helping manage their salary cap. Brinker would have rejoined ex-Packers exec Eliot Wolf in New England. Instead, the Packers promoted him.

Jets To Start Morgan Moses At RT, Tyler Kroft Could Start At TE?

June 29th, 2021 at 2:21pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

On a quiet Tuesday afternoon, we’ve got news on a couple of Jets position battles to pass along. New York just signed tackle Morgan Moses on Friday, and the initial assumption was that he might compete with George Fant to be the Jets’ right tackle opposite Mekhi Becton.

Apparently, it won’t be much of a competition. “Even if the Jets tout this as a competition, Moses is the starting right tackle,” Brian Costello of the New York Post writes. He says the team “might try to sell this as a competition in training camp to soothe Fant’s ego and also avoid the embarrassing questions about paying a backup tackle an $8.5 million salary,” but that Moses will be the starter when it’s all said and done.

Moses got a $3.6MM base with incentives up to $5.3MM on his one-year deal. He was cut by Washington last month after not missing a start in six straight seasons for them. Meanwhile, Costello writes in a separate piece that Tyler Kroft may end up as the team’s starting tight end.

He says Kroft “has been one of the bigger surprises of the spring,” has received plenty of reps with the first-team in practices, and “could beat out Chris Herndon for the job if Herndon does not shake out of the funk he was in last year.”

The Jets didn’t get much from the position last year, (Herndon had 31/287/3 in 16 games), so it’s not shocking they’re considering other options. Kroft didn’t do too much with Buffalo the last couple years, but he had 42/404/7 when he was last a starter with the Bengals in 2017. He signed a one-year deal with the Jets back in March.

Bears Had Talks With OT Morgan Moses

June 26th, 2021 at 9:35am CST by Ben Levine

It sounds like the Bears are in the market for a starting left tackle. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweets that Chicago “had fruitful talks” with Morgan Moses.

The Bears intended to play Moses at left tackle. Garafolo notes that Moses is more comfortable playing right tackle, and the veteran will ultimately play that position with the Jets.

It’s not a huge surprise that the Bears are looking for some reinforcement at offensive tackle. The organization moved on from veterans Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie this past offseason, and Moses would have provided some experience to an offensive tackle corps that has appeared in a total of 10 career games. The team drafted Teven Jenkins in the second round of this past year’s draft, but even if the team throws him into the starting lineup, they could still use some extra depth.

If the Bears can’t secure a starting offensive tackle during training camp or preseason, they’ll presumably want to add an experienced backup. Jenkins and Elijah Wilkinson are slotted in at the starting offensive tackle spots at the moment, meaning any of fifth-round rookie Larry Borom, 2020 seventh-round pick Lachavious Simmons, and 2020 undrafted free agent Badara Traore could find themselves playing significant snaps.

Jets To Sign Morgan Moses

June 25th, 2021 at 5:40pm CST by Zachary Links

The Jets got their man. On Friday, Gang Green agreed to a one-year, $3.6MM deal with offensive tackle Morgan Moses (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). Meanwhile, Moses can reach up to $5.3MM via incentives, including 80% or more playing time.

The two sides were said to be discussing a multi-year deal earlier this month. Ideally, Moses would have liked a more substantial payday, but this is a solid outcome for both parties. Already backed by plenty of starting experience, Moses could cash in all over again in the spring if he plays up to par. It’s a solid move by the Jets, too, scoring one of the best free agents left in June.

Moses went six straight seasons without missing a game for the Washington Football Team and earned a lucrative re-up in 2017. However, Washington opted to revamp their tackle group this year by drafting Samuel Cosmi in the second round and signing longtime Bears left tackle Charles Leno.

According to the advanced metrics, 2020 might have been Moses’ best year yet as he placed top-20 for tackles, per Pro Football Focus. Before that, the advanced metrics framed him as a middle-of-the-road blocker from 2017 through 2019. The Jets are expected to slot him in as their starting right tackle, supplanting George Fant and Chuma Edoga as Mekhi Becton‘s bookend.

Jets, Morgan Moses Nearing Deal

June 17th, 2021 at 10:53am CST by Zachary Links

The Jets and offensive tackle Morgan Moses are making progress on a multi-year deal, according to a source who spoke with ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). Other teams have been in the mix, but it sounds like the Jets are the frontrunners for the seven-year vet.

Moses went six straight seasons without missing a game for the Washington Football Team and earned a lucrative re-up in 2017. However, Washington opted to revamp their tackle group this year by drafting Samuel Cosmi in the second round and signing longtime Bears left tackle Charles Leno.

Last year, Pro Football Focus graded Moses as a top-20 tackle. However, the advanced metrics framed him as a middle-of-the-road tackle from 2017 through 2019. For the Jets, he’d be a solid choice for their right tackle job, where George Fant and Chuma Edoga are currently duking it out to start opposite of Mekhi Becton.

Meanwhile, they have the dollars available to add Moses after convincing wide receiver Jamison Crowder to take a pay cut. Originally set to make $10MM this year, it’s believed that Crowder will earn something in the neighborhood of $5MM.

Jets Want Jamison Crowder To Take 50% Pay Cut

June 13th, 2021 at 10:04am CST by Rory Parks

We heard earlier this month that the Jets want slot receiver Jamison Crowder — who is entering the final year of his contract — to take a significant pay cut. Today, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com reports that New York wants to reduce Crowder’s 2021 salary by at least 50%.

The soon-to-be 28-year-old receiver is due to make a non-guaranteed $10MM this year, and the Jets want to pay him a maximum of $5MM instead. And it appears that Gang Green has plenty of leverage. At this point in the year, most teams don’t have a ton of money to spend, so it would be hard to imagine another club paying Crowder more than $5MM for the 2021 campaign. Plus, the Jets could clear over $10MM of cap space with a minimal dead money hit if they were to release Crowder, and New York reportedly feels comfortable with its receiving corps even without him in the picture.

According to Cimini, second-round rookie Elijah Moore — another slot receiver — was one of the best players on the field during OTAs, and fellow slot man Braxton Berrios also looked good. Of course, the Jets made a big-money free agent addition to the WR room in Corey Davis, and they also brought in Keelan Cole, so they’re content to play hardball with Crowder.

On the other hand, the team has plenty of cap space as is and will deploy rookie QB Zach Wilson under center. Even if there is some redundancy in the slot, it would be understandable if the Jets wanted to keep an established veteran like Crowder just in case Moore isn’t quite ready to shoulder the load. But since GM Joe Douglas doled out $80MM in guaranteed money in free agency, the club might prefer to save some cash, especially since it remains interested in free agent OT Morgan Moses (who recently visited with the Jets).

Cimini suggests that Crowder and the club could agree to a restructure, though such a maneuver wouldn’t preclude the Jets from trading Crowder if Moore continues to perform well in training camp and the preseason.

Bears, Jets Meet With Morgan Moses

June 1st, 2021 at 9:59am CST by Zachary Links

Morgan Moses is a busy man. On Wednesday, the former Washington tackle will meet with the Bears, as ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter tweets. Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (Twitter link) hears that he also visited the Jets last week.

There could be even more visits on the docket for Moses, who stands as one of the best offensive lineman left on the market. Washington gave Moses permission to seek trades earlier this month, but there were no takers. Ultimately, they released him to save $7.74MM against the 2021 salary cap.

Moses was re-upped by WFT in 2017 and went six straight seasons without missing a game. He’s durable, but not a world-beater, so Washington revamped their tackle group by drafting Samuel Cosmi in the second round and signing longtime Bears left tackle Charles Leno.

For what it’s worth, Pro Football Focus graded Moses as a top-20 tackle last season. But, previous to that, the advanced metrics framed him as a middle-of-the-road tackle from 2017 through 2019.

The Jets are set at left tackle with second-year pro Mekhi Becton, but their right tackle spot is still up in the air. For now, George Fant and Chuma Edoga stand as their top RT options. Meanwhile, the Bears could slot Moses ahead of Germain Ifedi on the right side with second-round rookie Teven Jenkins on the left.

Washington Cuts Morgan Moses, Geron Christian

May 20th, 2021 at 3:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

After attempting to trade Morgan Moses, Washington will instead send its longtime right tackle to free agency. The team is releasing its six-year right tackle starter, Sam Fortier of the Washington Post tweets. Washington is also waiving tackle Geron Christian, according to the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala (on Twitter).

Rarely a player brought up here at Pro Football Rumors, Moses signed an extension in 2017 and has gone six straight seasons without missing a game. Moses’ relative anonymity came to an end this week, with Washington making him available for trade. No takers, however, will lead to a release.

Washington added two presumptive tackle starters over the past month, drafting Samuel Cosmi in the second round and signing longtime Bears left tackle Charles Leno. The WFT will save $7.74MM by cutting Moses, who will immediately become one of the top free agents available.

Pro Football Focus graded Moses as a top-20 tackle last season. While the advanced metrics site viewed Moses as a middle-of-the-road tackle from 2017-19, the 30-year-old blocker certainly proved dependable. As Trent Williams frequently missed starts and Washington cycled through tackles after Williams’ run ended in 2019, Moses continued to suit up for games. After finishing his rookie season on IR, the former third-round pick has made 96 straight starts.

A 2018 third-round pick, Christian started eight games at left tackle with Washington. Six of those came last season. Although a Brandon Scherff extension remains a goal for the defending NFC East champions, Washington’s new regime has rebooted the team’s tackle situation.

WFT Gives Morgan Moses Permission To Seek Trade

May 18th, 2021 at 1:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The Washington Football Team is ready to move on from Morgan Moses. This week, the front office granted the longtime starting tackle permission to seek a trade (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport).

Moses is currently slated to earn $7.75MM in 2021. That’s not an unreasonable sum, but it’s more than WFT will pay Charles Leno on his brand new one-year, $5MM pact. Leno, 29, is now the leader to man Washington’s left tackle spot with second-round pick Samuel Cosmi positioned to take over in the long run. Now, Washington may look to slot Cosmi in as the RT starter while turning Moses into a bit of future draft capital.

“It gives us more depth,” head coach Ron Rivera told reporters after signing the ex-Bears starter. “It gives us more opportunity to fill some of the other basic needs we have and having another guy that’s been a very durable, veteran player. I just don’t think you can have enough quality offensive line depth.”

Moses hasn’t been a world-beater. But, to his credit, he hasn’t missed a start since his rookie year. He did so while playing through some painful injuries over the last few seasons. Moses’ medical chart includes ankle and Lisfranc surgeries, plus pectoral tears.

NFC East Notes: Giants, Redskins, Jones

December 4th, 2017 at 9:15pm CST by GregGoldstein

Now that the Giants front office and coaching staff is set to go through a number of changes after the firing of Jerry Reese and Ben McAdoo, there’s a ton of speculation of who could be the person put in charge to bring the franchise back to perennial success.

While many people think the hire will come outside the organization, Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network thinks interim GM Kevin Abrams should not be overlooked as the Giants begin their search.

Garafolo notes that Abrams is a “cap guy by trade”, but has worked on his scouting ability in recent years and has “attended multiple NFL seminars” to prepare to lead a football operations department. A number of names are likely to be floated for the job given that the team will likely have a high pick and has a track record of winning, but Abrams seems like he might get a realistic shot at turning his interim tag into a full-time position.

Here’s more from around the NFC East:

Apart from Abrams, Mike Sando of ESPN.com speculated a few candidates from outside the organization who could be contenders for the Giants general manager and head coaching gigs. Sando names front office guys like Nick Caserio from the Patriots, former Panthers GM Dave Gettleman and former Colts President Bill Polian. He also highlights many well known up-and-comers such as Eric DeCosta (Ravens), George Paton (Vikings), Eliot Wolf (Packers) and Terry McDonough (Cardinals) among many others. Sando added that former GM’s Scott Pioli (Falcons) and John Dorsey (free agent) could be intriguing hires as well. In terms of potential head coaching candidates, Sando names guys who were on the teams original list back before they hired McAdoo prior the 2016-17 season. This would include current coordinators like Teryl Austin (Lions) and Mike Smith (Buccaneers). An under-the-radar name to watch is Texans defensive coordinator, Mike Vrabel, who is best known for his time leading the Patriots defense to Super Bowl titles.
While the Redskins are out of the NFC playoff race after losing to the Cowboys last Thursday, that doesn’t mean that team will start resting their players, states John Keim of ESPN.com. He passes along that Head coach Jay Gruden said that he wouldn’t rest some of their injured starters just because the games don’t have postseason implications for the team. “They’re all trying to get back in the lineup,” Gruden said. “They’re going to play hard because they want to win and want to do well. That’s the reason they’re all here. We try to target guys that love football, are passionate about the game and are going to play hard no matter what. For the most part, we’ve got that here. So whether you are on one year left or five years left, doesn’t really matter.” Starters like left tackle Trent Williams, right tackle Morgan Moses and tight end Jordan Reed have all dealt with nagging injuries this season, but it appears that the Redskins won’t just solely be resting key players hoping that could lead to a better draft pick.
Eagles cornerback Sidney Jones has not played in a game this season as he’s continued to rehab the achilles that he had torn back in March. However, the rookie has yet to participate in practice, reports Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). Jones has been eligible to start practicing since the beginning of Week 7, but has just a 21 day time period to be activated to the roster once he does begin to take part in practice. It’s important to note that Berman explains in a follow-up tweet, Jones could just use the last three weeks of the regular season to get extra reps and get a head start on his offseason training. The Eagles currently have corners Jalen Mills, Patrick Robinson, Ronald Darby and Rasul Douglas patrolling the defensive backfield.