Santana Moss is going home.
No, he's not going back to Miami or even to New York.
According to my friend John Keim at the DC Examiner, he's returning to the X-receiver position, the spot where he has enjoyed his greatest success in the NFL.
The two wide receiver spots on the Washington Redskins (and, generally, around the NFL) are labeled the Z, or flanker position, and the X, the split end. In most two-receiver formations, the Z lines up on the same side of the field as the tight end while the X is alone on the other side.
The X receiver has more room to operate and can generally use his speed more to his advantage. The Z is the more physical spot, the one that has to work in traffic.
In 2005, when Moss set the Redskins team record with 1,483 yards receiving, he played the X spot. When the Skins acquired Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd, they put those two in the X and moved Santana to Z.
In his two seasons in that position, Moss has just over 100 more yards combined (1,598) than he did in that one Pro Bowl year.
I'm sure that Joe Gibbs and Al Saunders had their reason for moving Moss, listed at 5-10 but in reality not that tall, to the more physical flanker spot. But moving him back to the X certainly doesn't qualify as an act of genius on the part of Jim Zorn.
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