Looking for yet another reason to hate the NFL lockout?
You've probably got your fill, but if there's still an itch to scratch why don't you go ahead and add absurdly long shelf lives for rumors that would normally be dealt with in a matter of days. Since we have nothing else to talk about other than legal briefs, a topic that even lawyers find tiresome, we find ourselves chewing on ideas until well past the point that the gum has lost its taste.
The rumor linking Randy Moss to the Jets is one such rumor. Manish Mehta of the Daily News takes the dog out for a walk on Monday, but it is basically the same story we heard a month ago when you get down to brass tacks.
Sources close to the Jets say that there is legitimate interest in Moss inside the organization. The Jets are unsure about their ability to hang onto some or all of their free agent wideouts -- Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes, Brad Smith -- from last season so they are open to considering Moss should they need to add a veteran target.
If the season is played under rules like the ones used in 2010, the Jets are going to do everything they can to re-sign Holmes, Edwards and Smith. If the season is played under rules that involve a salary cap, they won't be able to bring them all back and might only bring one back.
In either scenario, Moss could make sense. Given the baggage that Moss brings with him to a team, however, the latter one is the only one that makes any kind of sense.
Rex Ryan may pride himself on being the kind of coach who can deal with even an oversized, overweight duffel without any wheels, but Moss makes no sense if there's a way to get Holmes and Edwards back next season. The continuity of the offense would be better, while the high likelihood of Moss being used less than he'd like means you'd just be asking for trouble.
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It's the kind of thing that's interesting the first time you hear it, but it has become little more than background noise at this point. Part of that is the obvious nature of the report -- obviously the Jets would consider a player of Moss's talent -- but the bigger part is the ambiguity.
Josh Alper is a writer living in New York City. You can follow him on Twitter and he is also a contributor to Pro Football Talk.
