Santana Moss: “I Want To Be A Redskin”

ASHBURN – Santana Moss talked to a few teams during his brief period of free agency, but all along, he knew what he wanted.

The receiver wanted to return to the Redskins.

“At the end of the day, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, but my first thought was with the Redskins, and I felt like this was home for me from day one,” Moss said Monday. “I’ve felt welcome. I enjoy going to work here and it was just someplace I can say that when I’m away from Miami, this is my home.”

Moss, 32, didn’t take long to reach an agreement, signing a three-year, $15 million contract to stay with the Redskins on Wednesday. Entering his 12th season, Moss was traded to Washington before the 2005 season, and he led the Redskins with 1,115 yards and six touchdowns in 2010.

Despite contact from several teams, reports that Moss was close to signing with anyone but the Redskins were not true, he said. He specifically denied a link to Kansas City when asked.

“I feel like if I’m going to still play, why try to go somewhere and start all over?” he said. “It’s not promised that the team you try to go to is the team that’s going to win the Super Bowl or win a bunch of games that year. I just know what we’ve been working on for so many years and I knew that the coaching staff that we brought in last year, I really enjoy what they show me. The kind of offense we ran and just as far as how we conduct our whole team, it gave me the confidence that if we put the right people in the right places, we can really do some good things. If I had the opportunity to come back, why not? It’s a no-brainer.”

Moss also appreciated the relationship he had built with coach Mike Shanahan over the past year. Shanahan, he said, is the kind of coach he can respect – a no-nonsense type of guy who can let the players be who they want to be, provided they show up to the facilities and on game days in shape and ready to play.

One thing that didn’t enter Moss’s thought process was the unsettled quarterback situation. John Beck is currently penciled in as the starter after Donovan McNabb was traded to the Vikings last week and Rex Grossman has yet to sign a contract.

“What should I think of it?” he said. “I played with so many quarterbacks man, every year that goes by is something new. But I don’t ever think about it. I just think whoever’s out there is the quarterback, and we’re going to make the best with it. … You just go out there and play ball.”

As for Beck?

“John’s one of those guys who I think is a very confident guy,” Moss said. “It shows in the way he tries to handle his business. Beyond that, I don’t like to judge people off practice. I don’t want to get everybody all antsy-pants and think this is what we need to be looking at. I just feel like every day is a day for us to improve together, the whole offense, and when it’s time to really judge us, and really test [us], we’ll see then. But I think that everything he did last year … got him where he is today.”

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