Watch CBS News

Thaddeus Moss Says Patriots Called Too Late To Sign Him

BOSTON (CBS) -- You snooze, you lose. Even in the NFL.

That's the message that Thaddeus Moss shared to the two teams who were late to call him to express their interest in signing him as an undrafted free agent.

In a conference call with Redskins reporters, Moss said that the Bengals and Patriots also expressed some interest. Moss went with Washington, though, because they called him first.

Though the appeal of another member of the Moss family catching passes in Foxboro was an intriguing one, Bill Belichick -- like every other NFL decision-maker -- passed on the opportunity to select Moss in the draft. After the draft, the Patriots signed Boston College tight end Jake Burt as a UDFA. The Patriots also selected tight ends Devin Asiasi and Dalton Keene during the draft.

Moss made the most of his one season at LSU, catching 47 passes for 570 yards and four touchdowns. His nine catches for 135 yards and three touchdowns during the College Football Playoff en route to a national championship boosted his profile considerably.

Moss shared how frustrated he was to watch kickers and punters get selected in the draft while he had to watch from the sidelines.

"It was definitely a slap in the face," he said. "I put a lot of work in, years of football, we went undefeated and won a national championship. I played my best ball in our biggest games. So I definitely felt it was a slap in the face, not getting drafted, having kickers and punters and special teams guys getting picked over me. I definitely felt some type of way over it. But it's no different, I've always had to prove myself my whole life, having the last name that I've had, I've always had to prove everybody wrong -- or just prove myself right my whole life. And this is no difference."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.