Rob Moore Finally Signs

September 9, 1999 / 9:16 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Swayed by the way his teammates went to bat for him, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rob Moore ended his holdout Thursday by signing a one-year tender offer.

When Moore made a surprise appearance at practice, fellow starter Frank Sanders pumped his fist in the air and broke into a broad grin.

Moore credited Sanders with convincing him to return in time to play in the team's season opener Sunday against the Eagles at Philadelphia.

"I had a long conversation with him Tuesday," Moore said. "And just to realize how much the guys missed me and I missed them how much I missed the game that's what it boiled down to."

Sanders was drafted in the second round in 1995 after the Cardinals traded their first-round pick and other considerations to the New York Jets for Moore, and has started alongside him ever since.

Sanders said they discussed what the team was doing to compensate for Moore's absence, and then spoke about friendship.

"I just tried to make sure that he understood that he was missed, and that the guys love him," Sanders said.

Arizona will still face the Eagles without rookie offensive lineman L.J. Shelton, a first-round draft pick who has refused all contract offers, and defensive tackles Eric Swann and Mark Smith.

Swann is recovering from knee surgery, and Smith is the team's last veteran holdout, prompting Sanders to say the squad wasn't complete yet.

"Maybe offensive-wise, but defensively they still want Swann back, and Mark Smith, because they need those two big guys in the middle," Sanders said.

The agreement allows Moore to perform while he and the front office continue to negotiate on a longer, more lucrative contract.

Moore held out in frustration after the team designated him its franchise player and then offered him a contract averaging $4.5 million a year but with a relatively small, $2 million signing bonus.

This season, Moore will make the average of the top five salaries at his position, about $3.5 million. He planned to take out an insurance policy to protect himself against major injuries.

He said he believes the Cardinals will deal in good faith, and owner Bill Bidwill backed up Moore's thinking.

"We've agreed to bargain during the next two weeks, or months or whatever it takes to get a longer agreement done," Bidwill said. "We're very happy to have Rob here, and we hope to get him under contract for more than one year."

Moore said he was in good shape. When the team was at training camp, practicing twice a day, he did his own two-a-days, running "50 to 60 route a day, including all kinds of sprints and agility drills."

But offensive coordinator Marc Trestman wasn't sure how much action the two-time Pro Bowl selection would see in the first game.

"We've got to go in there Sunday and play the guys we've been practicing with and working with, because ultimately they're the most prepared," Trestman said. "If Rob can give some juice along the way and bring something to the table, we'll play it by ear."

Quarterback Jake Plummer blistered the team on Monday for not signing Moore, who was close to agreement on a $15 million, three-year contract until the talks stalled on the size of the bonus.

"I'm happy," said Plummer, who declined to give a longer interview. "I'm very happy. I'm going to see him right now."

Moore, wearing street clothes to the practice fields and accompanied by Bidwill, said Plummer's tirade touched him.

"It meant a lot to me as a player that my quarterback was willing to stand up for me and say what he believed," Moore said.