Santana Moss, legendary Redskins receiver and current Commanders TV broadcast coverage analyst, was ALL OVER our Audacy DC airwaves Friday, appearing with both Chris Russell and Craig Hoffman on The Team 980 as well as Grant & Danny on 106.7 The Fan.
And while it would’ve been cheaper to just get ‘Tana an Uber to our studios than pay his phone bill, the big topic of conversation was, as you’d imagine, the Jahan Dotson trade and what it means – and as a former receiver here in DC and player who was dealt while on his rookie deal like Dotson, this one still came as a surprise.
“I’m a bit surprised, man. When it comes down to just seeing what he did his first year, and then following up his second year, probably wasn't the best, but there was so much going on with that offense and them passing the ball as many times as they did, I thought this year was gonna be kind of that year to rewrite anything that he didn't do last year,” Moss said. “That first year, he had a dynamic start and got hurt, and that kind of led us to believe some things. We were hoping we could see him do something – not in Philly, but he was one of my good little buddies, so hoping he has success.”
There’s lots of speculation about his physical and mental fit with the new regime, but as Danny noted, the fact that the Commanders were willing to take a third and two sevens for a five to move on from what Dotson could have given the next two or three years (if his option is picked up) is telling.
“That’s basically saying you're betting against a lot of production, for somebody that was a first-round pick and has shown some pretty good moments here, if not last year,” Danny said.
“I think when it all boils down to it, I'm looking at a lot of different scenarios, but it has to be that he just wasn’t the guy they wanted him to be,” Moss said. “I'm saying to myself, okay, he's going into his third year, if he plays well, we gotta (pick up the option) next year, do we wanna do that? Or, if he's just not the guy that we want right now, not fitting where we wanna put him at, do I risk having him go out here and have a good productive year, and then he does and we don't have a chance to really deal him and get something for him? But when it all comes down to it, this is a new staff, they don’t owe him anything, and he wasn’t that guy they wanted him to go out and be, so they went ahead and dealt him. He just wasn't a guy that fit their scheme.”
Grant had heard that Dotson was not as physical as they wanted, in whatever facet that may be, and that hasn’t changed as camp goes on – so is that part of it?
“When you play this game, regardless if you have the ball in your hand or you’re out there being a decoy or blocking, you gotta go out there and win that battle,” Moss, who also wasn’t a large receiver, told the guys. “I think if that's what was something that was said about him, I don't know if that was particularly the reason why they didn't wanna have him around, but if you heard it, it was said, and that’s something you don’t want hanging over your head, because that would definitely get you out the door quick. I've been on teams where I saw guys have that kind of notion about themselves, and trust me, they don't last long.”
It’s all about being a complete player no matter your position, because football is about more than just one skill at literally every position.
“I just feel like one of the things about this game, and people take it for granted, is that you think just because we catch the ball on the outside, that there's nothing else to our game. I played with guys that were great pass catchers who really weren't into the blocking thing, but some coaches you can get away with that, and then you have some staffs that don't tolerate that, and you have to be a complete player,” Moss said. “I grew up in a complete player kind of mindset because I was a guy that also played defense, so that’s why even though I was one of the smallest receivers, I was tough, because I was a cornerback and went through years of having to tackle. You have to be tough, and I don't think he did enough on the outside for them to let that go by – so if that's something that they had questions about, I can easily see that being a reason that a coaching staff don't want you around.”
Take a listen to Moss' entire visit with Grant & Danny above!