The Falcons reached a five-year, $30 million deal with safety William Moore on Saturday.
“It’s a relief,” said Moore, who had $14 million of the deal guranteed. “That was my ultimate goal, to continue to be here in Atlanta and try to get the Super Bowl. I’m very pleased with the negotiations.”
Moore, who made the Pro Bowl last season as an alternate, was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Tuesday. The deal can’t be made official until Tuesday, when the new league year begins.
Moore, who turns 28 in May, was drafted in the second round (55th overall) of the 2009 draft.
Moore missed most of his rookie season with knee and hamstring injuries.
Moore broke into the lineup in 2010, starting 15 of 16 games. He had 108 tackles and five interceptions.
In 2011, Moore started 11 of 12 games and had 62 tackles and two interceptions.
Last season, Moore turned in a fine season with 105 tackles and four interceptions. He went to the Pro Bowl when San Francisco’s Pro Bowl safeties Donte Whitner and Dashon Goldson reached the Super Bowl.
Moore was fine with not hitting the open market.
“It’s a good problem to have, but at the same time, it’s a process that you hate to go through because you don’t know where the next chapter in your life will end up at,” Moore said. “But I was hoping that I would stay here in Atlanta for the whole time. We just had to work through (free agency).”
Also, former Falcons cornerback Dunta Robinson, who was recently released, reached a three-year contract agreement with the Kansas City Chiefs, according to multiple reports.
Moore didn’t mind that he didn’t receive the team’s franchise tag. If tagged, Moore could have played next season for the Falcons at $6.912 million, which is the average of the top five safeties.
The Falcons used their franchise tag on cornerback Brent Grimes last season. He was paid $10.2 million.
Buffalo placed the franchise tag on safety Jairus Byrd. He was the lone safety of the eight players around the NFL to receive the tag.
“This whole entire process is basically just knowing your value and where you want to stand as a player,” Moore said. “Where you are pitching yourself at. It’s not (anything) personal.”
The Falcons never wanted Moore to reach the open market and ramped up their negotiations as teams were allowed to start calling potential unrestricted free agents today.
“I love the Atlanta Falcons,” Moore said. “They gave me an opportunity to be blessed and come into the NFL and be a part of this great organization.”
On 790TheZone last week, Moore seemed to indicate that he would stay with the Falcons for less money.
“I really don’t know the final numbers, but it’s very decent," Moore said. "I think the Falcons were very considerate of my position. It’s just a blessing to be in this position and be financially stable.”
Moore, who was featured by defensive coordinator Mike Nolan last season, played out his original four-year, $3.4 million deal.
“I remember being in college and working out for the Falcons," Moore said. "I confirmed to (Thomas Dimitroff) that I’d love to come in and help the Falcons get to a Super Bowl. Just coming that close (last season), shows that we’ve made that progress over the four years since I’ve been here. I’m sure that with the guys that we have here, the sky is the limit."
Last season, the Falcons re-signed free safety Thomas DeCoud to a five-year $17.5 million contract.
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