Dianna Russini Credit: Pardon My Take
By Reice Shipley on

Update: Dianna Russini has told Awful Announcing that the incorrect graphic that showed a New England Patriots logo alongside free agent Morgan Moses was a “bad mistake” by her graphics team. The story below has been updated.

On Monday, NFL teams are officially allowed to contact unrestricted free agents in what is called the “legal tampering period,” otherwise known as free agency, where news about new contracts comes fast and furious.

But on Sunday night, just hours prior to the legal tampering period, one report from an NFL insider sparked speculation that one team may have made premature contact with one player.

According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, New York Jets offensive tackle Morgan Moses is expected to hit free agency after failing to come to an agreement with the Jets on a new contract.

Seems like an innocent enough report, right? Well, the only problem is that this wasn’t Russini’s first draft of this post on X. In her initial post, which was quickly deleted, Russini included a New England Patriots logo next to the name of Morgan Moses, which her followers quickly picked up on.

This template that Russini used for this report looks quite similar to one that she used to report on the Pittsburgh Steelers trade with the Seattle Seahawks for star wide receiver DK Metcalf, which, unlike this supposed Morgan Moses leak, is officially official.

Russini has now offered Awful Announcing an explanation for the graphic snafu. The reporter called it a “bad mistake” by her graphics team that occurred because the New England Patriots logo and NFL logo are listed close together alphabetically in their graphics software.

The mistake took on further importance when Russini, shortly after the incorrect graphic was posted on X, reported the Patriots as one of four teams interested in signing Moses.

If Moses does end up in New England during the early stages of free agency, many will use Russini’s now-deleted post as evidence that the Patriots were talking to the offensive tackle prior to the legal tampering period. Though for now, it seems like this incident can be chalked up to a simple error.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley