Minnesota Vikings star Randy Moss to be traded, according to agent

By Hugo Guzman  |   Monday, February 28, 2005  |  Comments( 0 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Seven years ago, when he dropped into their lap in the 21st slot in the NFL draft because of concerns about his character, the Minnesota Vikings were confident they could nurture Randy Moss into an elite NFL receiver.

In a few days, the Vikings officially will give up on Moss - although he has gained more receiving yardage in his first seven seasons than any other player in NFL history. The Vikings have agreed to trade the mercurial receiver to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris, plus the seventh overall selection in the coming NFL draft and a seventh-round pick in this year's draft, Moss' agent confirmed Wednesday. Neither team can announce the deal until March 2, per league rules.

Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski would only say, "We've had some discussions with them (the Raiders), but there is nothing to announce." Raiders public relations director Mike Taylor said, "We're not commenting on the report." But he added, "This organization has always been tremendously aggressive. Randy Moss rates with the great players of all time, and great players want to play for the Raiders."

The Pioneer Press first reported the story Wednesday afternoon, when agent Dante DiTrapano said his client was preparing for his future in Oakland. As a first step, the Raiders sent two of their most distinguished players, hall of fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff, now the team's receivers coach, and hall of fame defensive back Willie Brown, now a development coach for the team, to Florida to visit with Moss. "In speaking with Moss, although he has a lot of ties to Minnesota and did not particularly want to be traded, he's very excited with the possibility of playing for Al Davis and being a part of the Raider tradition," DiTrapano said. "The Raiders have vowed to use Randy's talents the way they should be used, and that's to throw the ball vertically down the field."

Getting the ball to Moss was the least of the Vikings' problems. Despite missing a handful of games this past season with a hamstring injury, Moss still gained 9,142 receiving yards, the most of any receiver through his first seven NFL seasons, and he caught 90 touchdown passes.

But over the years, Moss has been criticized for countless on- and off-the-field incidents. Most recently, during the Vikings' Jan. 9 playoff victory over the rival Green Bay Packers, Moss pretended to pull down his pants after scoring a touchdown. Asked about being fined $10,000 by the NFL for the incident, Moss played down the amount and jokingly said he might shake another body part next time. A week before the mock-mooning, Moss left the field with two seconds remaining in the team's regular-season finale against Washington.

During his career, Moss has been fined more than $100,000 by the NFL, including a fine for squirting liquid from a water bottle toward an official during a January 2000 NFC divisional playoff game in St. Louis. In 2001, Vikings owner Red McCombs forced then-coach Dennis Green to fine Moss $15,000 after the receiver verbally abused corporate sponsors on the team bus.

In December 2002, Moss pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor and one petty misdemeanor traffic offense for ignoring a Minneapolis traffic control agent's instructions and allegedly pushing her with his Lexus sedan.

Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper said he never had problems with Moss - on the field. "Moss never was a negative, as far as football goes," Culpepper said. "He did his thing on the field. It was the off-the-field-stuff that was negative. But he never did anything crazy that would really hurt anybody. He would do little, small things."

The Vikings long had been denying they were going to trade Moss. But McCombs, who has had a tenuous relationship with Moss, apparently approved the deal. What's not clear is whether Arizona businessman Reggie Fowler, who agreed to buy the team from McCombs for $625 million on February 14, had any input in the decision.

Friday, during a meeting with local reporters, Fowler would not address the possibility of Moss being traded. Tunheim Partners, Fowler's local public relations agency, said Fowler would not be available to comment. McCombs did not return multiple phone calls.

The trade is the latest in a series of significant moves made around the NFL in the past year. Last offseason, after seven seasons in Cincinnati, Corey Dillon was traded for a second-round pick to the New England Patriots, for whom he gained a career-high 1,635 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns.

After eight seasons in San Francisco, Terrell Owens was traded for a defensive starter and fifth-round draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles, for whom he tied a career high with 14 receiving touchdowns to go along with 1,200 receiving yards.

National observers said the Vikings did not get enough in return for Moss. "I don't think the deal makes sense from the football standpoint because of the impact he has had on this league," said former NFL receiver Cris Collinsworth, a television analyst for Fox. "His presence alone changes defenses. If it's true, it's a statement of more of the off-the-field stuff and maybe they just want a little bit of a shakeup in who they want to be the leader of that team."

Former Vikings quarterback Sean Salisbury said the Vikings gambled by trading Moss. "I don't know how the seventh pick will turn out," said Salisbury, an ESPN analyst. "But I know what Randy Moss can do. And I think he'll prove to the world that he's the best receiver in the NFL."

Moss wanted to remain with the Vikings, but he preferred to be traded to either to the Atlanta Falcons or the Baltimore Ravens. But after mulling the possibilities in Oakland, Moss was intrigued by the Raiders' history, as well as their controversial owner, Al Davis. Although the Raiders finished last season 5-11, DiTrapano said Moss improved his chances of reaching the Super Bowl.
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About Hugo Guzman

Trying to bring an objective approach to NFL analysis.
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