Randy Moss
Encyclopedia
Randy Gene Moss is a former American football
wide receiver
. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings
in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft
. He played college football
at Marshall University for the Thundering Herd in Huntington, West Virginia
.
Moss played the first seven years of his career in Minnesota before a trade in 2005 brought him to the Oakland Raiders
. On April 29, 2007, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots
for a fourth-round draft pick. On October 6, 2010, Moss returned to the Vikings in a trade from the Patriots. However, his stint in Minnesota was short-lived, as he was waived by the team less than a month later, and claimed by the Tennessee Titans
.
Moss holds the NFL single season touchdown reception record (23, set in 2007), and the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for a rookie (17, in 1998).
, where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. On the football field, Moss led the DuPont Panthers to back-to-back state championships in 1992 and 1993. He was a star at wide receiver, but also played defensive back, returned kickoffs and punts, and was the team's kicker and punter. In 1994, he was honored as the West Virginia Football Player of the Year. Parade Magazine named him to their annual All-American high school football team in 1995 and in 2009 named him one of the 50 greatest high school football players of all time.
In addition to playing football at DuPont, Moss was twice named West Virginia Player of the Year in basketball (1993 & 1994), where he was a teammate of future NBA player Jason Williams.
As a sophomore in 1992, he ran for the track team and was the West Virginia state champion in the 100
and 200 meters
with times of 10.94 and 21.95, respectively. This was the only year he competed on the track team. He also played center field
for the baseball team.
On March 23, 1995, Moss backed a friend in a hallway fight against a white student who had allegedly used racist comments towards Randy's friend. Moss was initially charged with a felony for kicking the student, but it was later reduced to a misdemeanor. On August 1, 1995, Moss pled guilty to two counts of misdemeanor battery
and was sentenced to 30 days behind bars at the South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia. He served 3 days in jail starting that night and would be required to serve the remaining 27 days within the following 18 months, after he completed his freshman year in college. Moss was expelled from DuPont and completed his education at Cabell Alternative School.
Fighting Irish
, but he also considered going to Ohio State
, where his half-brother, Eric, had played offensive tackle. Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz
said "Randy Moss was the best high school football player I've ever seen." Florida State
head coach Bobby Bowden
said "He was as good as Deion Sanders. Deion's my measuring stick for athletic ability, and this kid was just a bigger Deion."
After originally signing a letter of intent to play college football
with Notre Dame in 1995, Moss took part in a racially charged fight at his high school that left one person hospitalized. Notre Dame subsequently denied his enrollment application, but this did not stop another high-profile college football program from giving him a chance. Notre Dame officials suggested he attend Florida State due to the reputation of its coach, Bobby Bowden, for handling troubled players. However, because of his signed letter of intent at Notre Dame, the NCAA considered him a transfer student, which made him ineligible to play for the Seminoles in the 1995 football season.
in his freshman season. While at Florida State, Moss ran a 4.25 40-yard dash, with only Deion Sanders
being faster (4.23).
, thus violating his probation, and was dismissed from Florida State. He served an additional 60 days in jail for the probation violation.
Ultimately, Moss transferred to Marshall University
, about an hour's drive from his home. Because Marshall was then a Division I-AA school, NCAA rules allowed him to transfer there without losing any further eligibility. In 1996, he set the NCAA
Division I-AA records for most games with a touchdown catch in a season (14), most consecutive games with a touchdown catch (13), most touchdown passes caught in a season (28 – tying Jerry Rice
's 1984 record), and most receiving yards gained by a freshman in a season (1709 on 78 catches), a record which still stands. Moss was also the leading kickoff returner in Division I-AA on the season, with 612 total yards and a 34.0 yard average. Marshall went undefeated and won the Division I-AA title in its last season before moving to Division I-A.
quarterback Chad Pennington
were the centerpiece of an explosive offense that led the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference
title. Moss caught 26 touchdown passes that season, at the time a Division I-A record, and was a first-team All-American.
The first game of the season saw Moss pick up right where he left off in 1996. Facing Army, Moss caught 5 balls for 186 yards and two touchdowns. One touchdown went for 79 yards in which Pennington lobbed the ball down the left sideline. Moss leaped over an Army defender to snag the ball out of the air at the 40 yard line while the safety crashed into his teammate knocking both men down. Moss galloped the last 50 yards untouched for the score. The other touchdown reception was his career long of 90 yards that came on a short screen pass on third down. Moss caught the ball on the right side of the field at his own 8 yard line, ran past 3 defenders in the middle of the field at the 15 yard line, hurdled two defenders coming from both sides of the left hash marks at the 25 yard line, then raced past the last defender at the 50 yard line before finally seeing daylight down the left sideline.
A week later, Moss posted his third career 200+ yard receiving game against Kent State
. Two weeks after that was his fourth and final 200+ yard game in college, recording 13 catches for 205 yards and a Marshall single-game record of 5 touchdown receptions against Ball State
.
In the 1997 Ford Motor City Bowl against Ole Miss
, Moss added his 26th touchdown of the season on Marshall's first offensive play from scrimmage. He streaked down the right sideline and caught an 80 yard touchdown pass from Pennington to tie the score at 7–7. NCAA rules at the time did not allow for statistics from bowl games to be combined with regular season stats, so the touchdown did not officially increase his season touchdown record. The two teams traded the lead several times in the fourth quarter before Ole Miss running back Deuce McAllister
scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with :31 seconds to play giving them a 34–31 lead. Trying to pull out a last-second win, Pennington connected with Moss on a 40 yard pass on the final play of the game, but he was stripped of the ball as time expired. Moss finished the game with 6 receptions for 173 yards.
Moss finished his career at Marshall having scored at least one touchdown in all 28 games that he played. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award
as the nation's leading wide receiver, and was a finalist for the 1997 Heisman Trophy
(finishing fourth in the balloting, behind Ryan Leaf
, Peyton Manning
, and Charles Woodson
, who won the award).
, Moss, who was projected as a high first-round pick, was taken by the Minnesota Vikings with the 21st overall pick after a number of NFL clubs—even those in need of a WR—were concerned with Moss' well-documented legal problems. Before the draft Moss was quoted as saying teams that pass on him "will regret it once they see what kind of a player I am and what kind of guy I really am." The team most often cited for passing on Moss is the Dallas Cowboys
. Moss grew up a Cowboys fan and wanted to play for the Cowboys. The Cowboys wanted Moss, but because of many off-field incidents of their own, team owner and GM Jerry Jones
did not feel the team could draft Moss. Moss felt that the Cowboys lied to him, because they told him they would draft him. On draft day, Dallas went so far as to have a scout in Charleston, West Virginia
, the same town where Moss and his mother were watching the draft. Dallas star receiver Michael Irvin
even called to apologize to Moss, because Irvin's own off-field problems were a main reason Moss was not drafted by Dallas. After the draft, Moss made a point of beating the Cowboys any time he faced them.
After the draft, Moss signed a 4 year, $4.5 million dollar contract that included an additional $4 million dollars in bonuses and incentives. As part of the deal, he received a $2 million dollar signing bonus. Moss originally wore #18 in training camp (a number he would eventually wear for Oakland) but switched to the more conventional #84 before the preseason began.
, Moss helped the Vikings to become the number one-ranked offense
, scoring a then-NFL record 556 points.
The Vikings opened the season with a 31–7 rout against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
. Moss' first NFL game would also be his first multi-touchdown game as he recorded 4 receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns. His first NFL reception came on the third play of the game on an 11 yard pass from Brad Johnson
. His first touchdown was a 48 yard acrobatic grab over defensive back Floyd Young late in the first quarter, in which Moss juggled the ball 3 times before securing it for the score. He added a 31 yard touchdown reception on the Vikings first possession of the second quarter to give the Vikings a 21–0 lead.
His first Monday Night Football
game came in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers
at Lambeau Field
. He had 5 receptions for 190 yards and two touchdowns, including touchdown grabs of 52 yards and 44 yards, and two other receptions of 46 yards and 41 yards. He also had a 75 yard touchdown catch on the Vikings first possession of the game that was nullified due to an offensive holding penalty.
They finished with a 15–1 record and were poised to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl
. However, the Atlanta Falcons
stunned the Vikings by winning the NFC Championship Game 30–27 in overtime.
At the end of the 1998 regular season, Moss was named a Pro Bowl starter and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for his rookie-record 17 touchdown receptions and the third highest receiving yardage (1,313) total.
. Minnesota lost in the divisional round to the St. Louis Rams
49–37, despite Moss catching nine passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Moss was fined $40,000, which was later reduced to $25,000, during that game due to squirting an NFL referee with a water bottle. There was a stipulation that he would have to pay the difference in addition to any other fine if he had another run-in with the league.
Moss earned his second straight Pro Bowl
appearance, and turned in a record breaking performance. He had 9 receptions for a Pro Bowl record 212 yards and was given the games Most Valuable Player award.
.
after the season ended, but sources stated that Moss would request a trade if that happened because it would still be less than what he could command on the open market.
Just prior to the start of training camp in July, Vikings owner Red McCombs
signed Moss to an 8-year, $75 million contract extension. The extension included a $10 million signing bonus
and another $8 million in guarantees. It remains as the largest contract, in terms of total dollar value, ever handed to an NFL wide receiver.
Despite finishing the season with 10 touchdowns, Moss failed to make the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.
was officially named head coach on January 10, 2002. One of the strategies the Vikings first-year head coach came up with was a formula to get Randy Moss the ball more often. Coach Tice called it the Randy Ratio. It was an effort on the coaches part to throw 40% of the passes to Moss as a way to keep him involved in the offense more than he had been in the 2001 season when he had stretches in games where he was being shut out, and partly to use more game clock by sustaining long drives to give the Vikings defense a chance to rest. An assistant coach would stand on the sidelines during games and track how many times Moss had been thrown to, and then inform Tice of the percentages so that he is always aware of it. In the 2001 season, the Vikings record was 4–1 when Moss had 40% of the passes thrown his direction, and 1–10 in other games.
The strategy was a response to the 'Randy Rules,' as Vikings receiver Chris Walsh called them. The Randy Rules, similar to the Jordan Rules
, were a defensive strategy that teams employed when facing the Vikings to try and eliminate or reduce Randy's impact on the game, and to prevent Moss from being matched up one-on-one
with defenders because of his ability to burn them deep or outjump them in single coverage. Opposing teams would routinely double cover Moss with techniques such as having a cornerback
attempt to jam him at the line of scrimmage, having a corner defend underneath with a safety
defending against the deep ball, having a zone defense
roll to Moss' side of the field, and assigning "spys" to follow Moss everywhere he went.
Coach Tice discussed the strategy, explaining that Moss would be running more short and intermediate routes and less deep patterns. In training camp, Moss worked specifically on 12 new routes that he had rarely run in his first 4 NFL seasons, such as crossing patterns over the middle of the field and hook routes. Coach Tice said, "When we say Randy Ratio, everybody in the league thinks, 'OK, now they're going to throw the ball down the field to Randy more and more and more.' That's so far from the truth. In fact, we'll probably throw the ball down the field to Randy this year even less."
The Randy Ratio did not last very long, as Tice scrapped the idea midway through the 2002 season. Randy Moss said "I didn't really care much about the Randy Ratio when it was brought up. I just wanted to win." While Moss caught a career high 106 passes, he also had a career low 7 touchdown receptions, and the Vikings struggled to a 6–10 record. Tice suggested after the season that it was a mistake to inform opponents about his offensive gameplan, but that it was a tool "to motivate [Moss] and say he was the guy."
regular season, where he became the second wide receiver in history (behind Jerry Rice in 1995) to play more than 12 games (he played 16) while averaging over 100 yards and one touchdown per contest. He finished with 111 receptions for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns. All three numbers either tied or became a new personal best.
In the offseason, he attended the Vikings strength & conditioning program and added 5 pounds of muscle to his frame.
in Week 6 that hampered him for the next five weeks. He played in Week 7 against Tennessee
, but had no receptions in a game for the first time in his career. He also played the following week against the Giants, but again recorded no receptions and was used mainly as a decoy. The injury eventually sidelined him for 3 straight weeks. He returned to the lineup in Week 12 with a touchdown catch against the Jacksonville Jaguars
.
Even though he finished the season with 13 touchdowns in 13 games, he posted career lows in receptions (49) and receiving yards (767), becoming the first season in his career that he failed to reach the 1,000 yard mark.
Moss made the Pro Bowl five times in his seven-year career with the Minnesota Vikings (1998–2000, 2002, and 2003).
for linebacker Napoleon Harris
and the Raiders' first (7th overall, which Minnesota parlayed into WR Troy Williamson
) and seventh-round picks in the NFL draft. Adding a player of Moss' caliber generated optimism in Oakland, but the Raiders' poor play continued after acquiring him. Nagging injuries limited his production, as well as what some saw as his unwillingness to play.
Moss was excited to get a fresh start in Oakland. "I am very flattered to be here and anxious to be in this situation," Moss said. "I want to get back to being a dangerous player."
There were rumors leading up to the 2007 NFL Draft
that the Raiders were eager to part ways with Randy Moss through a trade. First-year Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin
went so far as to contact the division rival Denver Broncos
to "gauge interest", but the Patriots and Green Bay Packers
were the two teams most interested in acquiring Moss. Packers QB Brett Favre
, who once said, "There is no one in this league who puts fear in people more than Randy Moss," tried to persuade team management to trade for him, but a deal that both sides could agree to did not get done.
During the first day of the NFL Draft, the Patriots and Raiders discussed the trade several times before reaching an agreement. Bill Belichick
spoke with Moss for the first time about the possibility of joining the Patriots at 2:30AM early Sunday Morning. Moss then boarded a plane and arrived in Boston later that morning on April 29 and was required to pass a team administered physical. Once he was cleared by Patriots officials, a trade was completed that sent Randy Moss to New England in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft
. The draft pick had been acquired by the Patriots the previous day from the San Francisco 49ers
, and the Raiders selected John Bowie
.
One of the conditions of the trade was that Randy Moss would have to restructure his contract for salary cap
reasons. Just hours before the Moss trade was completed, New England quarterback Tom Brady
converted $5.28 million of his 2007 base salary into a signing bonus that is spread out over the remaining portion of his contract so that it could free up cap room. This enabled the Patriots to absorb Moss' incoming contract under the salary cap. Moss had two years remaining on his current deal and was scheduled to earn $9.75 million in 2007 and $11.25 million in 2008. Once the Patriots had Moss on their roster, he quickly agreed to a new one year contract to replace his old one. The new deal gave him a $500,000 signing bonus, a base salary of $2.5 million, and the ability to earn an additional $1.75 million in incentives.
"I’m still in awe that I’m a part of this organization," Moss said, clearly thrilled to join a team that could contend for the Super Bowl and to work with Coach Belichick
. "I think that he’s the kind of coach that can motivate me. He has a proven track record."
In the first week of training camp, during an 11-on-11 passing drill, Moss suffered a hamstring injury to his left leg. As a precaution, the injury prevented Moss from participating in any preseason games and he missed much of the rest of camp.
His first action in a Patriots uniform came in the infamous Spygate game against the New York Jets in Week 1. He quickly quieted critics who claimed that his skills had deteriorated by hauling in 9 receptions for 181 yards, including a 51 yard touchdown pass in which he ran past 3 Jets defenders.
On November 4, 2007, James Black, NFL Editor for Yahoo! Sports
wrote, "Every week, in addition to out-leaping at least one defender for a touchdown, [Moss] keeps making incredible one-handed grabs that make you mutter, 'How the heck did he come up with that?'" Two weeks later, he added a career high 4 touchdown receptions in a single game against Buffalo.
On December 29, the Patriots defeated the New York Giants
38–35, finishing their season with a perfect 16–0 record. Moss caught two touchdown passes for a total of 23, breaking the single season record of 22 touchdown receptions previously set by Jerry Rice
(in 12 games in the strike-shortened 1987
season). On the same play, Tom Brady
broke Peyton Manning
's single season record set in 2004 with his 50th touchdown pass. Moss recorded 98 catches for 1,493 yards in 2007, the highest yardage total in Patriots franchise history and the third-highest total number of catches, after teammate Wes Welker
's 112 catches that same season and Troy Brown
's 101 in 2001. He also earned his sixth Pro Bowl selection. His 2007 season featured touchdowns in 13 of 16 games (including 8 multi-touchdown games), nine 100-yard games, and six touchdown receptions of 40 or more yards.
Despite his record breaking 2007 season, Moss was relatively quiet in the playoffs going 2 consecutive games without a touchdown for the first time all season. However, in Super Bowl XLII
he scored the go ahead touchdown with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter on a 6 yard pass from Tom Brady. However, this was still not enough to enable the heavily favored Patriots to achieve the first 19–0 undefeated season, as Eli Manning
drove the Giants down the field and connected with Plaxico Burress
for what proved to be the game winner.
on Moss. Although the Dallas Cowboys
, Philadelphia Eagles
and Green Bay Packers
were rumored to have interest in Moss, he decided to return to the Patriots, signing a three-year, $27 million deal on March 3, 2008. The contract included a $12 million dollar signing bonus, and a total of $14.1 million guaranteed.
The first game of the 2008 season saw Brady suffer a torn ACL
in his left knee while attempting a pass to Randy Moss. The play occurred in the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs
when safety Bernard Pollard
dove at Brady's leg while in his throwing motion. Moss described what he saw on the play by saying "any time you see something like that, that looks foul, it looks dirty, it opens your eyes. So, me personally, it looked dirty." Matt Cassel
replaced Brady for the rest of the season.
In 2008, Moss hauled in 69 catches for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns despite losing quarterback Tom Brady in the first quarter of the season.
, Moss caught three touchdown passes from Tom Brady, two of them in the 2nd quarter as Brady set a record for most touchdown passes in a single quarter with five. This was Moss's 34th multi-touchdown game, and his 8th game with 3 or more touchdowns.
During the Patriots bye week, Belichick stated that Moss "is the smartest receiver he's ever been around." He compared Moss' ability to see the field and anticipate plays to that of Tom Brady, and to Lawrence Taylor
who Belichick coached with the New York Giants
. He said Moss not only knows what he's doing on a play, but what everybody else on the field is doing as well. "That's what makes them special. They just have a sixth, seventh sense," Belichick said.
In Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins
Moss added 6 catches for 147 yards and 1 touchdown. The touchdown reception was the 140th of his career, which moved him into a tie for 2nd place with Terrell Owens
and he now only trails Jerry Rice
who has 197.
The following week, in a primetime Sunday night matchup against the Indianapolis Colts
, Moss had 179 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63 yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter that moved him ahead of Terrell Owens for sole possession of 2nd place in career touchdown receptions. In the same game, he became just the 11th player in NFL history with 900+ receptions and the 7th player to reach 14,000+ career receiving yards.
He finished the season with 83 receptions for 1,264 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl
as a replacement for injured teammate Wes Welker.
, Moss, who was entering the final year of his contract told CBS Sports
that he "did not feel wanted" in New England absent a contract extension offer. Moss would go on to catch 5 passes for 59 yards in Week 1. After the game, Moss told reporters that it would be his final season with the Patriots. The Boston Herald
reported weeks later that Moss requested a trade following the game.
Moss had two receptions in Week 2 against the New York Jets
, including a 34-yard touchdown. The following week against the Buffalo Bills
, Moss had two more catches, both for touchdowns. His final game in New England came in Week 4 on Monday Night Football
against the Miami Dolphins
; he did not record a catch in the game for the first time in his Patriots career as a touchdown pass attempt off a fake spike bounced off his hands in the end zone.
, in exchange for the Vikings' third-round selection (later used to select Ryan Mallett
) in the 2011 NFL Draft
. The Patriots also sent a 2012
seventh-round selection to the Vikings as part of the trade.
On November 1, less than four weeks after being traded to Minnesota, Vikings head coach Brad Childress
told Vikings players in a team meeting that Moss was going to be waived by the team, one day after he criticized Childress and teammates in a press conference following the Vikings' loss to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium
. Just before the press conference, Moss reportedly told team owner Zygi Wilf that Childress was unfit to coach in the NFL and should be fired. Wilf reportedly considered firing Childress and keeping Moss, but Moss was officially waived the next day, November 2. Childress was eventually fired on November 22.
Days after the trade, reports surfaced that Moss had told the owner of a local restaurant catering a team meal that Moss would not "feed the food to his dog."
, the only team to submit a claim, on November 3, 2010. Moss played eight games with the Titans, starting four. He made six catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns.
Moss finished the 2010 season setting career lows in receptions (28) and receiving yards (393). The Tennessee Titans
stated that they did not plan to re-sign Moss for the 2011 season.
, announced that Randy Moss had decided to retire.
On June 29, 2005, he launched the Randy Moss Celebrity Charity Invitational Bass Tournament. The tournament was a one day event that paired celebrities and corporate sponsors with pro fishermen to raise money for the Smile Network
, which is a foundation that provides financial assistance to children with treatable mouth problems, such as cleft palate. The tournaments motto is "fish for a smile."
In 2008, Moss formed the Links for Learning foundation, which was established to help children in his home state of West Virginia, and to build learning centers for the most needy student populations. In June, he and his former high school teammate Jason Williams hosted the foundations first annual charity golf tournament at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Hurricane, West Virginia.
In March 2009, Moss' foundation made a donation that enabled the Women and Children’s Hospital of Charleston, West Virginia to purchase a Starlight Children's Foundation 'Fun Center' for their patients. The 'Fun Center' is a portable bedside entertainment system equipped with a TV, DVD player, and 22 Nintendo Wii
games.
On the morning of November 24, 2009, Moss flew home to West Virginia to personally hand out Thanksgiving dinners to families in the Charleston area. He stayed only a few hours before having to head back to Massachusetts for a Patriots practice later in the day.
article, when discussing the 1970 Marshall plane crash, Randy Moss was quoted as saying, "The plane crash was before my time. I don't try to go back in the past and say this football game is for the people in the plane crash. I've seen the burial ground. I went up there and looked at the names. It was a tragedy, but it really wasn't nothing big." Moss claimed that the quote was taken out of context.
in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
, Moss was driving and was preparing to make an illegal turn. A traffic control officer (Amy Zaccardi), noticing what he was about to do, stood in front of his 2002 Lexus
car, ordering him to stop. Eyewitness accounts of the event differ at this point, but Moss did not comply with the officer's order, and she was bumped by his vehicle and fell to the ground. Moss was arrested, and a search of his vehicle revealed a joint amounting to less than a gram
in his ashtray. Initially charged with felony Suspicion of Assault
with a Deadly Weapon and a misdemeanor
marijuana possession, Moss spent the night in jail and was released the following morning. Moss pleaded guilty
to a misdemeanor traffic violation and was ordered to pay a $1,200 fine and perform 40 hours of community service. While the criminal charges were thus disposed of, the civil lawsuit filed by the traffic control officer brought a substantial penalty fine "in the low to mid six figures". Moss claimed that the joint was not his, and that he had let friends use his car prior to the accident.
against the Washington Redskins
and with two seconds remaining on the game clock, Moss walked off the field and into the locker room; critics criticized Moss for quitting on his team. Moss stated afterward that he did not think Minnesota, who ended up losing 21–18 to Washington, would recover the onside kick
.
in an NFC wildcard playoff game. Moss finished the game with 4 catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns in the 31–17 win. After the second score, Moss trotted to the end zone goalpost and, facing away from the crowd, feigned pulling down his pants to moon
the Green Bay fans. TV announcer Joe Buck
, calling the game, was incensed, calling it "a disgusting act" on-air. Days later, the NFL fined him $10,000, finding it "unsportsmanlike" and "offensive" during the playoffs. However, then-Indianapolis Colts
head coach Tony Dungy
, the former Vikings defensive coordinator
, explained Moss' action by pointing out that Packers fans are infamous for actually mooning the buses of departing opponents after a loss, unlike Moss' fully clothed imitation.
just prior to turning himself in to jail. He was scheduled to finish the remainder of his 30 day sentence for misdemeanor battery while in high school. During his first week in jail, Moss was given a drug test that came back positive. He was placed in solitary confinement for a week and had 60 days attached to his 27 day sentence. Bobby Bowden
revoked his scholarship and Moss was dismissed from Florida State University for the failed drug test.
Chris Mortensen
of ESPN
reported that Moss tested positive in 2001 for marijuana
under the NFL's substance abuse program and was subject to additional random drug screening for two years. A first time violation of the NFL's drug policy can result in up to 10 tests per month. Moss has not failed an NFL drug test since, and was rotated out of the program after two years.
In August 2005, during an interview with Bryant Gumbel
, Moss admitted that he has smoked marijuana during his NFL career "every blue moon." When asked whether he still used marijuana currently, Moss replied "I might. I might have fun. And, you know, hopefully ... I won't get into any trouble by the NFL by saying that, you know. I have had fun throughout my years and, you know, predominantly in the offseason." The interview drew criticism from the league office, and his agent tried to spin it that his words were taken out of context. In response, Moss said "That was really me talking in the past tense of way back in the beginning of my career and my childhood – especially in high school and college."
by having an award named after him
, becoming only one of two black athletes (along with John Mackey) so honored. During the press conference, Moss responded to questions about his dropped passes and lackluster effort in several games, saying "Maybe because I'm unhappy and I'm not too much excited about what's going on, so, my concentration and focus level tend to go down sometimes when I'm in a bad mood." Days later, he reiterated his unhappiness with losing games and being a member of the Raiders on his weekly segment with Fox Sports Radio
, saying, "I might want to look forward to moving somewhere else next year to have another start and really feel good about going out here and playing football."
On May 15, 2007, more than two weeks after the trade to New England, Moss was called out by his former Raiders
coaches. His former offensive coordinator, Tom Walsh
, who was fired from the Raiders after Oakland's 2–14 losing season, said of Moss, "Randy Moss is a player whose skills are diminishing, and he's in denial of those eroding skills...Randy was a great receiver, but he lacked the work ethic and the desire to cultivate any skills that would compensate for what he was losing physically later in his career." Walsh also reported that Moss told him, "'I'm too old to practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but I'm not too old to play on Sunday.'" However, Moss stated the losing seasons on the Oakland Raiders negatively affected his playing and discouraged him during the team's practice: "...Losing sometimes can get contagious, but as a player I can't let that settle in, and I think that's one of the things that bothered me [in Oakland]. I didn't want it to set in and it didn't set in. It was just really nerve-racking that it was hard for me to win."
In 2009, after a 20–10 win over the Carolina Panthers
, Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble
and safety Chris Harris accused Moss of giving up during the game. Gamble claimed Moss "gives up a lot" and that he "laid it down during the game", while Harris said "[Moss] kind of doesn't run the routes the way they're supposed to be run. If you get a jam on him, he'll ease up. ... If he can't get it going, he gets out of sync." Moss caught 1 pass for 16 yards, fumbled the ball once, and dropped a pass, as well as had a ball thrown at him picked off during the game. In response, Bill Belichick stated, "My response would be that's a lot of conversation coming from a team that just lost another game." Tom Brady noted that Gamble had many plays made on him as well.
-based radio station WDBO reported that Moss "ha[d] been hit with a temporary injunction for protection against dating violence. According to the affidavit Moss committed a battery upon Rachelle Washington, causing serious injury, and then refused to allow her to seek medical attention. The affidavit out of Broward County
reveals Moss cannot come within 500 feet of the victim and cannot use or possess firearms.
The next day, in a locker room press conference, Moss claimed the woman was simply looking for money "over an accident," because her lawyer came to his lawyer, threatening a lawsuit, and asking for money to settle before she went public to the media. Moss stated he had known Washington for about eleven years. He also stated in his defense that he has never assaulted a woman in his entire life, and asked that the media and fans "find out the facts" before "rush[ing] to judgment." Moreover, Moss' lawyer, in an e-mail to the Boston Globe accused the woman's lawyer of "blatant threats and attempts to extort money" from Moss. On March 3, 2008, Rachelle Washington filed papers with the Broward County Circuit Court clerk's office requesting that the restraining order be dissolved and the case closed. No criminal charges were ever filed in the incident.
, who had a short stint in the NFL as an offensive lineman with the Minnesota Vikings. Moss has four children with his girlfriend, Libby Offutt (two daughters, Sydney and Senali, and two sons, Thaddeus and Montigo).
team intended to begin participation in the NASCAR
Craftsman Truck Series
. In July 2008, Moss announced that he had bought a 50 percent share in Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, with the team's #46 entry switching to #81.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft
1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18-19, 1998...
. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Marshall University for the Thundering Herd in Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
.
Moss played the first seven years of his career in Minnesota before a trade in 2005 brought him to the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. On April 29, 2007, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
for a fourth-round draft pick. On October 6, 2010, Moss returned to the Vikings in a trade from the Patriots. However, his stint in Minnesota was short-lived, as he was waived by the team less than a month later, and claimed by the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
.
Moss holds the NFL single season touchdown reception record (23, set in 2007), and the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for a rookie (17, in 1998).
Early years
Moss grew up in Rand, West Virginia and attended high school at the now defunct DuPont High in Belle, West VirginiaBelle, West Virginia
Belle is a town in Kanawha County, West Virginia, along the Kanawha River. The population was 1,259 at the 2000 census. Belle was incorporated on December 13, 1958 by the Kanawha County Circuit Court...
, where he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. On the football field, Moss led the DuPont Panthers to back-to-back state championships in 1992 and 1993. He was a star at wide receiver, but also played defensive back, returned kickoffs and punts, and was the team's kicker and punter. In 1994, he was honored as the West Virginia Football Player of the Year. Parade Magazine named him to their annual All-American high school football team in 1995 and in 2009 named him one of the 50 greatest high school football players of all time.
In addition to playing football at DuPont, Moss was twice named West Virginia Player of the Year in basketball (1993 & 1994), where he was a teammate of future NBA player Jason Williams.
As a sophomore in 1992, he ran for the track team and was the West Virginia state champion in the 100
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...
and 200 meters
200 metres
A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...
with times of 10.94 and 21.95, respectively. This was the only year he competed on the track team. He also played center field
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
for the baseball team.
On March 23, 1995, Moss backed a friend in a hallway fight against a white student who had allegedly used racist comments towards Randy's friend. Moss was initially charged with a felony for kicking the student, but it was later reduced to a misdemeanor. On August 1, 1995, Moss pled guilty to two counts of misdemeanor battery
Battery (crime)
Battery is a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact, distinct from assault which is the fear of such contact.In the United States, criminal battery, or simply battery, is the use of force against another, resulting in harmful or offensive contact...
and was sentenced to 30 days behind bars at the South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, West Virginia. He served 3 days in jail starting that night and would be required to serve the remaining 27 days within the following 18 months, after he completed his freshman year in college. Moss was expelled from DuPont and completed his education at Cabell Alternative School.
College career
Moss' dream was to play for the Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
Fighting Irish
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
, but he also considered going to Ohio State
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, where his half-brother, Eric, had played offensive tackle. Former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz
Lou Holtz
Louis Leo "Lou" Holtz is a retired American football coach, and active sportscaster, author, and motivational speaker in the United States...
said "Randy Moss was the best high school football player I've ever seen." Florida State
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
head coach Bobby Bowden
Bobby Bowden
Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden is a retired college football coach. He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons...
said "He was as good as Deion Sanders. Deion's my measuring stick for athletic ability, and this kid was just a bigger Deion."
After originally signing a letter of intent to play college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
with Notre Dame in 1995, Moss took part in a racially charged fight at his high school that left one person hospitalized. Notre Dame subsequently denied his enrollment application, but this did not stop another high-profile college football program from giving him a chance. Notre Dame officials suggested he attend Florida State due to the reputation of its coach, Bobby Bowden, for handling troubled players. However, because of his signed letter of intent at Notre Dame, the NCAA considered him a transfer student, which made him ineligible to play for the Seminoles in the 1995 football season.
Freshman (redshirt) (1995)
He was red-shirtedRedshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
in his freshman season. While at Florida State, Moss ran a 4.25 40-yard dash, with only Deion Sanders
Deion Sanders
Deion Luwynn Sanders , nicknamed "Prime Time" and "Neon Deion", is a former National Football League cornerback and Major League Baseball outfielder who currently works as an NFL Network analyst...
being faster (4.23).
Freshman (1996)
In 1996, while serving his 30-day jail sentence in a work-release program from 1995, Moss tested positive for smoking marijuanaCannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, thus violating his probation, and was dismissed from Florida State. He served an additional 60 days in jail for the probation violation.
Ultimately, Moss transferred to Marshall University
Marshall University
Marshall University is a coeducational public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States founded in 1837, and named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States....
, about an hour's drive from his home. Because Marshall was then a Division I-AA school, NCAA rules allowed him to transfer there without losing any further eligibility. In 1996, he set the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I-AA records for most games with a touchdown catch in a season (14), most consecutive games with a touchdown catch (13), most touchdown passes caught in a season (28 – tying Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
's 1984 record), and most receiving yards gained by a freshman in a season (1709 on 78 catches), a record which still stands. Moss was also the leading kickoff returner in Division I-AA on the season, with 612 total yards and a 34.0 yard average. Marshall went undefeated and won the Division I-AA title in its last season before moving to Division I-A.
Sophomore (1997)
In the 1997 season, Marshall's first in Division I-A, Moss and future New York JetsNew York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
quarterback Chad Pennington
Chad Pennington
James Chadwick "Chad" Pennington is an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for ten years. He is currently a football analyst with FOX Sports though he plans to return to playing after recovering from an injury...
were the centerpiece of an explosive offense that led the Thundering Herd to the Mid-American Conference
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
title. Moss caught 26 touchdown passes that season, at the time a Division I-A record, and was a first-team All-American.
The first game of the season saw Moss pick up right where he left off in 1996. Facing Army, Moss caught 5 balls for 186 yards and two touchdowns. One touchdown went for 79 yards in which Pennington lobbed the ball down the left sideline. Moss leaped over an Army defender to snag the ball out of the air at the 40 yard line while the safety crashed into his teammate knocking both men down. Moss galloped the last 50 yards untouched for the score. The other touchdown reception was his career long of 90 yards that came on a short screen pass on third down. Moss caught the ball on the right side of the field at his own 8 yard line, ran past 3 defenders in the middle of the field at the 15 yard line, hurdled two defenders coming from both sides of the left hash marks at the 25 yard line, then raced past the last defender at the 50 yard line before finally seeing daylight down the left sideline.
A week later, Moss posted his third career 200+ yard receiving game against Kent State
Kent State Golden Flashes football
The Kent State Golden Flashes football team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, USA. The team is a member of the Mid-American Conference East division, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Football Bowl Subdivision...
. Two weeks after that was his fourth and final 200+ yard game in college, recording 13 catches for 205 yards and a Marshall single-game record of 5 touchdown receptions against Ball State
Ball State Cardinals football
The Ball State Cardinals football team represents Ball State University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Mid-American Conference .-Recent history:...
.
In the 1997 Ford Motor City Bowl against Ole Miss
Ole Miss Rebels football
The football history of the University of Mississippi , includes the formation of the first football team in the state and is 26th on the list of college football's all-time winning programs...
, Moss added his 26th touchdown of the season on Marshall's first offensive play from scrimmage. He streaked down the right sideline and caught an 80 yard touchdown pass from Pennington to tie the score at 7–7. NCAA rules at the time did not allow for statistics from bowl games to be combined with regular season stats, so the touchdown did not officially increase his season touchdown record. The two teams traded the lead several times in the fourth quarter before Ole Miss running back Deuce McAllister
Deuce McAllister
Dulymus Jenod "Deuce" McAllister is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with :31 seconds to play giving them a 34–31 lead. Trying to pull out a last-second win, Pennington connected with Moss on a 40 yard pass on the final play of the game, but he was stripped of the ball as time expired. Moss finished the game with 6 receptions for 173 yards.
Moss finished his career at Marshall having scored at least one touchdown in all 28 games that he played. He won the Fred Biletnikoff Award
Fred Biletnikoff Award
The Fred Biletnikoff Award has been presented since 1994 to America's top college football receiver by the TQC Foundation, Inc. , an independent not-for-profit organization which created the award in 1994 and has sponsored it since...
as the nation's leading wide receiver, and was a finalist for the 1997 Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
(finishing fourth in the balloting, behind Ryan Leaf
Ryan Leaf
Ryan David Leaf is a former American football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League for four seasons...
, Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
, and Charles Woodson
Charles Woodson
Charles C. Woodson is an American football cornerback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He played college football at the University of Michigan for the Michigan Wolverines. In 1997, Woodson led the Wolverines to a national championship...
, who won the award).
1998 NFL Draft
During the 1998 NFL Draft1998 NFL Draft
The 1998 NFL Draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18-19, 1998...
, Moss, who was projected as a high first-round pick, was taken by the Minnesota Vikings with the 21st overall pick after a number of NFL clubs—even those in need of a WR—were concerned with Moss' well-documented legal problems. Before the draft Moss was quoted as saying teams that pass on him "will regret it once they see what kind of a player I am and what kind of guy I really am." The team most often cited for passing on Moss is the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. Moss grew up a Cowboys fan and wanted to play for the Cowboys. The Cowboys wanted Moss, but because of many off-field incidents of their own, team owner and GM Jerry Jones
Jerry Jones
Jerral "Jerry" Wayne Jones is the owner and general manager of the NFL team, the Dallas Cowboys.-Early life:Jones was born in Los Angeles, California. His family moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas when he was an infant. Jones was a star running back at North Little Rock High School...
did not feel the team could draft Moss. Moss felt that the Cowboys lied to him, because they told him they would draft him. On draft day, Dallas went so far as to have a scout in Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston, West Virginia
Charleston is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is located at the confluence of the Elk and Kanawha Rivers in Kanawha County. As of the 2010 census, it has a population of 51,400, and its metropolitan area 304,214. It is the county seat of Kanawha County.Early...
, the same town where Moss and his mother were watching the draft. Dallas star receiver Michael Irvin
Michael Irvin
Michael Jerome Irvin is a former American football player for the Dallas Cowboys, and actor. He is also a former broadcaster for ESPN's NFL Countdown and currently an analyst for NFL Network. Irvin was self-nicknamed "The Playmaker" due to his penchant for making big plays in big games during his...
even called to apologize to Moss, because Irvin's own off-field problems were a main reason Moss was not drafted by Dallas. After the draft, Moss made a point of beating the Cowboys any time he faced them.
After the draft, Moss signed a 4 year, $4.5 million dollar contract that included an additional $4 million dollars in bonuses and incentives. As part of the deal, he received a $2 million dollar signing bonus. Moss originally wore #18 in training camp (a number he would eventually wear for Oakland) but switched to the more conventional #84 before the preseason began.
1998 season
In 19981998 NFL season
The 1998 NFL season was the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The Tennessee Oilers moved their home games from Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis to Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, still awaiting construction on a new stadium in Nashville.This was the first season that CBS...
, Moss helped the Vikings to become the number one-ranked offense
Offense (sports)
In sports, offense or offence , also known as attack, is the action of attacking or engaging an opposing team with the objective of scoring points or goals...
, scoring a then-NFL record 556 points.
The Vikings opened the season with a 31–7 rout against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football franchise based in Tampa, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the Southern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League – they are the only team in the division not to come from the old NFC West...
. Moss' first NFL game would also be his first multi-touchdown game as he recorded 4 receptions for 95 yards and two touchdowns. His first NFL reception came on the third play of the game on an 11 yard pass from Brad Johnson
Brad Johnson (American football)
James Bradley Johnson is a former National Football League Super Bowl-winning quarterback. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the ninth round of the 1992 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State.-Early years:Brad went to Charles D...
. His first touchdown was a 48 yard acrobatic grab over defensive back Floyd Young late in the first quarter, in which Moss juggled the ball 3 times before securing it for the score. He added a 31 yard touchdown reception on the Vikings first possession of the second quarter to give the Vikings a 21–0 lead.
His first Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
game came in Week 5 against the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
at Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
. He had 5 receptions for 190 yards and two touchdowns, including touchdown grabs of 52 yards and 44 yards, and two other receptions of 46 yards and 41 yards. He also had a 75 yard touchdown catch on the Vikings first possession of the game that was nullified due to an offensive holding penalty.
They finished with a 15–1 record and were poised to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played on January 31, 1999, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion, following the 1998 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football...
. However, the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
stunned the Vikings by winning the NFC Championship Game 30–27 in overtime.
At the end of the 1998 regular season, Moss was named a Pro Bowl starter and NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year for his rookie-record 17 touchdown receptions and the third highest receiving yardage (1,313) total.
1999 season
In 1999, Moss had another impressive season, catching 80 passes for 1,413 yards and 11 touchdowns. He went on to record five receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings 27–10 NFC wildcard playoff win over the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
. Minnesota lost in the divisional round to the St. Louis Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
49–37, despite Moss catching nine passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. Moss was fined $40,000, which was later reduced to $25,000, during that game due to squirting an NFL referee with a water bottle. There was a stipulation that he would have to pay the difference in addition to any other fine if he had another run-in with the league.
Moss earned his second straight Pro Bowl
2000 Pro Bowl
The 2000 AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was played on February 6, 2000 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii Attendance— 50,112. The game was broadcast by ABC with a running time of three hours and sixteen minutes. The final score was NFC 51, AFC 31. The AFC coach was Tom Coughlin of Jacksonville.The NFC coach...
appearance, and turned in a record breaking performance. He had 9 receptions for a Pro Bowl record 212 yards and was given the games Most Valuable Player award.
2000 season
The 2000 season featured second year quarterback Daunte Culpepper leading the team. Culpepper had been the teams first round draft pick in 1999; a pick which required a trade up. He had been selected largely due to his extremely strong arm, which the team believed was perfectly suited for Moss's deep routes. The decision proved correct. Culpepper was a rookie sensation, the Vikings started 7-0, and Moss was a leading MVP candidate. For the second time in three seasons, Moss punished the Dallas Cowboys in Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, including a spectacular 2nd half touchdown in which Moss caught the ball with his entire body out of bounds, aside from his toes. The play would be the feature shot in NFL commercials for years to come. Moss finished the season with a career high 1,437 yards and league leading 15 touchdown catches. In doing so, he became the youngest and faster player to ever catch over 3,000 yards and 45 touchdowns, earning him his 3rd consecutive trip to the pro bowl, and 2nd selection to the All Pro team. The Vikings would make it to the NFC Championship game, only to be blown out 41–0 by the New York Giants2000 New York Giants season
The 2000 New York Giants season was the 76th season for the club in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Preseason:-Regular season:The giants began the 2000 season hoping to get over the hump of coming short the past two seasons....
.
2001 season
In the offseason, Moss and his agent Danté DiTrapano began negotiating a new contract with the Minnesota Vikings. He was scheduled to earn 3.5 million dollars in 2001. But Moss, who was entering the final year of the rookie contract he signed in 1998, was seeking a long term deal that would make him the highest paid player in the NFL. His agent said, "We want to break the tradition of quarterbacks being the highest-paid players." One option the Vikings had would be to apply the franchise tagFranchise Tag
In the National Football League, the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has access each year to only one franchise tag and one...
after the season ended, but sources stated that Moss would request a trade if that happened because it would still be less than what he could command on the open market.
Just prior to the start of training camp in July, Vikings owner Red McCombs
Red McCombs
Billy Joe "Red" McCombs is the founder of the Red McCombs Automotive Group, a co-founder of Clear Channel Communications, a former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, Denver Nuggets, and the Minnesota Vikings, and the namesake of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin...
signed Moss to an 8-year, $75 million contract extension. The extension included a $10 million signing bonus
Signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee, e.g., if the annual salary is lower than he or she desires...
and another $8 million in guarantees. It remains as the largest contract, in terms of total dollar value, ever handed to an NFL wide receiver.
Despite finishing the season with 10 touchdowns, Moss failed to make the Pro Bowl for the first time in his career.
2002 season
After replacing Dennis Green on an interim basis to end the 2001 season, Mike TiceMike Tice
Michael Peter Tice is an American football National Football League coach, best known as the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He is currently the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears.-Playing career:...
was officially named head coach on January 10, 2002. One of the strategies the Vikings first-year head coach came up with was a formula to get Randy Moss the ball more often. Coach Tice called it the Randy Ratio. It was an effort on the coaches part to throw 40% of the passes to Moss as a way to keep him involved in the offense more than he had been in the 2001 season when he had stretches in games where he was being shut out, and partly to use more game clock by sustaining long drives to give the Vikings defense a chance to rest. An assistant coach would stand on the sidelines during games and track how many times Moss had been thrown to, and then inform Tice of the percentages so that he is always aware of it. In the 2001 season, the Vikings record was 4–1 when Moss had 40% of the passes thrown his direction, and 1–10 in other games.
The strategy was a response to the 'Randy Rules,' as Vikings receiver Chris Walsh called them. The Randy Rules, similar to the Jordan Rules
Jordan Rules
The Jordan Rules were a defensive strategy employed by the Detroit Pistons against Michael Jordan in order to limit his effectiveness on offense. Devised by head coach Chuck Daly in 1988, the Pistons' strategy was "to play him tough, to physically challenge him and to vary its defenses so as to...
, were a defensive strategy that teams employed when facing the Vikings to try and eliminate or reduce Randy's impact on the game, and to prevent Moss from being matched up one-on-one
Man-to-man defense
Man-to-man defense is a type of defensive tactic used in American football, association football, and basketball in which each player is assigned to defend and follow the movements of a single player on offense. Often, a player guards his counterpart , but a player may be assigned to guard a...
with defenders because of his ability to burn them deep or outjump them in single coverage. Opposing teams would routinely double cover Moss with techniques such as having a cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...
attempt to jam him at the line of scrimmage, having a corner defend underneath with a safety
Safety
Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
defending against the deep ball, having a zone defense
Zone defense
Zone defense is a type of defense, used in team sports, which is the alternative to man-to-man defense; instead of each player guarding a corresponding player on the other team, each defensive player is given an area known as a "zone" to cover....
roll to Moss' side of the field, and assigning "spys" to follow Moss everywhere he went.
Coach Tice discussed the strategy, explaining that Moss would be running more short and intermediate routes and less deep patterns. In training camp, Moss worked specifically on 12 new routes that he had rarely run in his first 4 NFL seasons, such as crossing patterns over the middle of the field and hook routes. Coach Tice said, "When we say Randy Ratio, everybody in the league thinks, 'OK, now they're going to throw the ball down the field to Randy more and more and more.' That's so far from the truth. In fact, we'll probably throw the ball down the field to Randy this year even less."
The Randy Ratio did not last very long, as Tice scrapped the idea midway through the 2002 season. Randy Moss said "I didn't really care much about the Randy Ratio when it was brought up. I just wanted to win." While Moss caught a career high 106 passes, he also had a career low 7 touchdown receptions, and the Vikings struggled to a 6–10 record. Tice suggested after the season that it was a mistake to inform opponents about his offensive gameplan, but that it was a tool "to motivate [Moss] and say he was the guy."
2003 season
Moss' fortunes took a better turn on the football field during the 20032003 NFL season
-Milestones:The following teams and players set all-time NFL records during the season:-Team:-Individual:-Awards:-External Links:**-References:*NFL Record and Fact Book *...
regular season, where he became the second wide receiver in history (behind Jerry Rice in 1995) to play more than 12 games (he played 16) while averaging over 100 yards and one touchdown per contest. He finished with 111 receptions for 1,632 yards and 17 touchdowns. All three numbers either tied or became a new personal best.
In the offseason, he attended the Vikings strength & conditioning program and added 5 pounds of muscle to his frame.
2004 season
Moss started the season strong catching 8 touchdowns in his first 5 games of the season. However, he sustained a hamstring injury to his right leg against New OrleansNew Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
in Week 6 that hampered him for the next five weeks. He played in Week 7 against Tennessee
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, but had no receptions in a game for the first time in his career. He also played the following week against the Giants, but again recorded no receptions and was used mainly as a decoy. The injury eventually sidelined him for 3 straight weeks. He returned to the lineup in Week 12 with a touchdown catch against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
.
Even though he finished the season with 13 touchdowns in 13 games, he posted career lows in receptions (49) and receiving yards (767), becoming the first season in his career that he failed to reach the 1,000 yard mark.
Moss made the Pro Bowl five times in his seven-year career with the Minnesota Vikings (1998–2000, 2002, and 2003).
Oakland Raiders
On March 2, 2005, Moss was traded to the Oakland RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
for linebacker Napoleon Harris
Napoleon Harris
Napoleon Bill Harris is an American football linebacker who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Northwestern and was drafted in the first round by the Oakland Raiders in the 2002 NFL Draft....
and the Raiders' first (7th overall, which Minnesota parlayed into WR Troy Williamson
Troy Williamson
-Minnesota Vikings:The Vikings needed a receiver with deep speed after trading Randy Moss to Oakland, drafting Williamson with the 7th overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft...
) and seventh-round picks in the NFL draft. Adding a player of Moss' caliber generated optimism in Oakland, but the Raiders' poor play continued after acquiring him. Nagging injuries limited his production, as well as what some saw as his unwillingness to play.
Moss was excited to get a fresh start in Oakland. "I am very flattered to be here and anxious to be in this situation," Moss said. "I want to get back to being a dangerous player."
2007 season
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
that the Raiders were eager to part ways with Randy Moss through a trade. First-year Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin
Lane Kiffin
Lane Monte Kiffin is the current head coach of the University of Southern California Trojans college football team. He was previously the head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers college football team, the Oakland Raiders of the NFL, and the offensive coordinator for the Trojans...
went so far as to contact the division rival Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
to "gauge interest", but the Patriots and Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
were the two teams most interested in acquiring Moss. Packers QB Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
, who once said, "There is no one in this league who puts fear in people more than Randy Moss," tried to persuade team management to trade for him, but a deal that both sides could agree to did not get done.
During the first day of the NFL Draft, the Patriots and Raiders discussed the trade several times before reaching an agreement. Bill Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
spoke with Moss for the first time about the possibility of joining the Patriots at 2:30AM early Sunday Morning. Moss then boarded a plane and arrived in Boston later that morning on April 29 and was required to pass a team administered physical. Once he was cleared by Patriots officials, a trade was completed that sent Randy Moss to New England in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft
2007 NFL Draft
The 2007 National Football League Draft took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draft was televised for the 28th consecutive year on ESPN and ESPN2. The NFL Network also broadcast coverage of the event, its second year doing so...
. The draft pick had been acquired by the Patriots the previous day from the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
, and the Raiders selected John Bowie
John Bowie
John Bowie is an American football cornerback who is currently a member of the Cincinnati Bengals. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
.
One of the conditions of the trade was that Randy Moss would have to restructure his contract for salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...
reasons. Just hours before the Moss trade was completed, New England quarterback Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
converted $5.28 million of his 2007 base salary into a signing bonus that is spread out over the remaining portion of his contract so that it could free up cap room. This enabled the Patriots to absorb Moss' incoming contract under the salary cap. Moss had two years remaining on his current deal and was scheduled to earn $9.75 million in 2007 and $11.25 million in 2008. Once the Patriots had Moss on their roster, he quickly agreed to a new one year contract to replace his old one. The new deal gave him a $500,000 signing bonus, a base salary of $2.5 million, and the ability to earn an additional $1.75 million in incentives.
"I’m still in awe that I’m a part of this organization," Moss said, clearly thrilled to join a team that could contend for the Super Bowl and to work with Coach Belichick
Bill Belichick
William Stephen "Bill" Belichick is an American football head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. After spending his first 15 seasons in the league as an assistant coach, Belichick got his first head coaching job with the Cleveland Browns in 1991...
. "I think that he’s the kind of coach that can motivate me. He has a proven track record."
In the first week of training camp, during an 11-on-11 passing drill, Moss suffered a hamstring injury to his left leg. As a precaution, the injury prevented Moss from participating in any preseason games and he missed much of the rest of camp.
His first action in a Patriots uniform came in the infamous Spygate game against the New York Jets in Week 1. He quickly quieted critics who claimed that his skills had deteriorated by hauling in 9 receptions for 181 yards, including a 51 yard touchdown pass in which he ran past 3 Jets defenders.
On November 4, 2007, James Black, NFL Editor for Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports was launched on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc., employs various writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American sport...
wrote, "Every week, in addition to out-leaping at least one defender for a touchdown, [Moss] keeps making incredible one-handed grabs that make you mutter, 'How the heck did he come up with that?'" Two weeks later, he added a career high 4 touchdown receptions in a single game against Buffalo.
On December 29, the Patriots defeated the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
38–35, finishing their season with a perfect 16–0 record. Moss caught two touchdown passes for a total of 23, breaking the single season record of 22 touchdown receptions previously set by Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
(in 12 games in the strike-shortened 1987
1987 NFL season
The 1987 NFL season was the 68th regular season of the National Football League. A 24-day players' strike reduced the 16-game season to 15. The games that were scheduled for the third week of the season were canceled, but the games for weeks 4–6 were played with replacement players...
season). On the same play, Tom Brady
Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.He has played in four Super Bowls,...
broke Peyton Manning
Peyton Manning
Peyton Williams Manning is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League . Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the...
's single season record set in 2004 with his 50th touchdown pass. Moss recorded 98 catches for 1,493 yards in 2007, the highest yardage total in Patriots franchise history and the third-highest total number of catches, after teammate Wes Welker
Wes Welker
-San Diego Chargers :Welker, who was not drafted during the 2004 NFL Draft, signed as an undrafted free agent with the San Diego Chargers. Welker made the Chargers out of training camp, but was released after the first game of the season.-2004 season:...
's 112 catches that same season and Troy Brown
Troy Brown
Troy Fitzgerald Brown is a former NFL wide receiver, cornerback and punt returner in the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the eighth round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Marshall...
's 101 in 2001. He also earned his sixth Pro Bowl selection. His 2007 season featured touchdowns in 13 of 16 games (including 8 multi-touchdown games), nine 100-yard games, and six touchdown receptions of 40 or more yards.
Super Bowl XLII
Despite his record breaking 2007 season, Moss was relatively quiet in the playoffs going 2 consecutive games without a touchdown for the first time all season. However, in Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII
Super Bowl XLII was an American football game on February 3, 2008 that featured the National Football Conference champion New York Giants and the American Football Conference champion New England Patriots to decide the National Football League champion for the 2007 season...
he scored the go ahead touchdown with 2:42 left in the fourth quarter on a 6 yard pass from Tom Brady. However, this was still not enough to enable the heavily favored Patriots to achieve the first 19–0 undefeated season, as Eli Manning
Eli Manning
Eli Nelson Manning is an American football quarterback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is the younger brother of NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning...
drove the Giants down the field and connected with Plaxico Burress
Plaxico Burress
Plaxico Antonio Burress is an American football wide receiver who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers eighth overall in the 2000 NFL Draft...
for what proved to be the game winner.
2008 season
On February 28, 2008, Moss became a free agent after the Patriots decided not to place the franchise tagFranchise Tag
In the National Football League, the franchise tag is a designation a team may apply to a player scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The tag binds the player to the team for one year if certain conditions are met. Each team has access each year to only one franchise tag and one...
on Moss. Although the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
were rumored to have interest in Moss, he decided to return to the Patriots, signing a three-year, $27 million deal on March 3, 2008. The contract included a $12 million dollar signing bonus, and a total of $14.1 million guaranteed.
The first game of the 2008 season saw Brady suffer a torn ACL
Anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament is a cruciate ligament which is one of the four major ligaments of the human knee. In the quadruped stifle , based on its anatomical position, it is referred to as the cranial cruciate ligament.The ACL originates from deep within the notch of the distal femur...
in his left knee while attempting a pass to Randy Moss. The play occurred in the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
when safety Bernard Pollard
Bernard Pollard
Bernard Karmell Pollard is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the second round of the 2006 NFL Draft...
dove at Brady's leg while in his throwing motion. Moss described what he saw on the play by saying "any time you see something like that, that looks foul, it looks dirty, it opens your eyes. So, me personally, it looked dirty." Matt Cassel
Matt Cassel
Matthew Brennan "Matt" Cassel is a quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. He was drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
replaced Brady for the rest of the season.
In 2008, Moss hauled in 69 catches for 1,008 yards and 11 touchdowns despite losing quarterback Tom Brady in the first quarter of the season.
2009 season
In the opener of 2009, Moss caught a career-high 12 passes for 141 yards in a comeback 25–24 victory over the Bills. In a snowy Week 6 game against the winless Tennessee TitansTennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, Moss caught three touchdown passes from Tom Brady, two of them in the 2nd quarter as Brady set a record for most touchdown passes in a single quarter with five. This was Moss's 34th multi-touchdown game, and his 8th game with 3 or more touchdowns.
During the Patriots bye week, Belichick stated that Moss "is the smartest receiver he's ever been around." He compared Moss' ability to see the field and anticipate plays to that of Tom Brady, and to Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Taylor
Lawrence Julius Taylor , nicknamed "L.T.", is a Hall of Fame former American football player. Taylor played his entire professional career as a linebacker for the New York Giants in the National Football League...
who Belichick coached with the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He said Moss not only knows what he's doing on a play, but what everybody else on the field is doing as well. "That's what makes them special. They just have a sixth, seventh sense," Belichick said.
In Week 9 against the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
Moss added 6 catches for 147 yards and 1 touchdown. The touchdown reception was the 140th of his career, which moved him into a tie for 2nd place with Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens
Terrell Owens is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Owens has been one of the dominant receivers of his era...
and he now only trails Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice
Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...
who has 197.
The following week, in a primetime Sunday night matchup against the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
, Moss had 179 yards and two touchdowns, including a 63 yard touchdown in the 2nd quarter that moved him ahead of Terrell Owens for sole possession of 2nd place in career touchdown receptions. In the same game, he became just the 11th player in NFL history with 900+ receptions and the 7th player to reach 14,000+ career receiving yards.
He finished the season with 83 receptions for 1,264 yards and 13 touchdowns. He was named to the 2010 Pro Bowl
2010 Pro Bowl
The 2010 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV...
as a replacement for injured teammate Wes Welker.
2010 season
In the week leading up to the Patriots' 2010 season opener against the Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
, Moss, who was entering the final year of his contract told CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is a division of CBS Broadcasting which airs sporting events on the American television network. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on West 52nd Street in midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on West 57th Street.CBS...
that he "did not feel wanted" in New England absent a contract extension offer. Moss would go on to catch 5 passes for 59 yards in Week 1. After the game, Moss told reporters that it would be his final season with the Patriots. The Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
reported weeks later that Moss requested a trade following the game.
Moss had two receptions in Week 2 against the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, including a 34-yard touchdown. The following week against the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Moss had two more catches, both for touchdowns. His final game in New England came in Week 4 on Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
against the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
; he did not record a catch in the game for the first time in his Patriots career as a touchdown pass attempt off a fake spike bounced off his hands in the end zone.
Return to Minnesota
Two days after the Patriots' game against Miami, Moss was traded to the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, in exchange for the Vikings' third-round selection (later used to select Ryan Mallett
Ryan Mallett
Ryan Mallett , nicknamed "Big Tex", is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League , taken in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks...
) in the 2011 NFL Draft
2011 NFL Draft
The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players...
. The Patriots also sent a 2012
2012 NFL Draft
The 2012 NFL Draft will be the 77th annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible football players.-Trades:...
seventh-round selection to the Vikings as part of the trade.
On November 1, less than four weeks after being traded to Minnesota, Vikings head coach Brad Childress
Brad Childress
Brad "Chilly" Childress is the former head coach of the Minnesota Vikings. He attended high school at the Marmion Academy in Aurora, Illinois...
told Vikings players in a team meeting that Moss was going to be waived by the team, one day after he criticized Childress and teammates in a press conference following the Vikings' loss to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution...
. Just before the press conference, Moss reportedly told team owner Zygi Wilf that Childress was unfit to coach in the NFL and should be fired. Wilf reportedly considered firing Childress and keeping Moss, but Moss was officially waived the next day, November 2. Childress was eventually fired on November 22.
Days after the trade, reports surfaced that Moss had told the owner of a local restaurant catering a team meal that Moss would not "feed the food to his dog."
Tennessee Titans
Moss was claimed off waivers by the Tennessee TitansTennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
, the only team to submit a claim, on November 3, 2010. Moss played eight games with the Titans, starting four. He made six catches for 80 yards and no touchdowns.
Moss finished the 2010 season setting career lows in receptions (28) and receiving yards (393). The Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
stated that they did not plan to re-sign Moss for the 2011 season.
Retirement
On August 1, 2011, Moss' agent, Joel SegalJoel Segal (sports agent)
Joel Segal is an American sports agent and the president of . Segal has used his law degree and background to become one of the most powerful sports agents in the world. In 2010 Segal was recognized as the 9th Most Powerful Sports Agent in America by Business Insider Law Review. In 2008 Segal was...
, announced that Randy Moss had decided to retire.
Charity
Moss has participated in, founded, and financed many charitable endeavors since joining the NFL, particularly aimed at helping children. Many times when talking about his charity work, he has said he just looks forward to "seeing smiles." He has donated clothing and food to needy families, given away free backpacks to Boston area school-children, and hosted autograph signings. He has also bussed children to amusement parks, NBA games, and even NFL games in which he has played.On June 29, 2005, he launched the Randy Moss Celebrity Charity Invitational Bass Tournament. The tournament was a one day event that paired celebrities and corporate sponsors with pro fishermen to raise money for the Smile Network
Smile Network International
Smile Network International is a Minnesota-based global non-profit, humanitarian organization that specializes in providing free surgeries for impoverished children in developing countries who are born with cleft lips and palates....
, which is a foundation that provides financial assistance to children with treatable mouth problems, such as cleft palate. The tournaments motto is "fish for a smile."
In 2008, Moss formed the Links for Learning foundation, which was established to help children in his home state of West Virginia, and to build learning centers for the most needy student populations. In June, he and his former high school teammate Jason Williams hosted the foundations first annual charity golf tournament at the Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Hurricane, West Virginia.
In March 2009, Moss' foundation made a donation that enabled the Women and Children’s Hospital of Charleston, West Virginia to purchase a Starlight Children's Foundation 'Fun Center' for their patients. The 'Fun Center' is a portable bedside entertainment system equipped with a TV, DVD player, and 22 Nintendo Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
games.
On the morning of November 24, 2009, Moss flew home to West Virginia to personally hand out Thanksgiving dinners to families in the Charleston area. He stayed only a few hours before having to head back to Massachusetts for a Patriots practice later in the day.
Marshall plane crash
In a 1997 Sports IllustratedSports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
article, when discussing the 1970 Marshall plane crash, Randy Moss was quoted as saying, "The plane crash was before my time. I don't try to go back in the past and say this football game is for the people in the plane crash. I've seen the burial ground. I went up there and looked at the names. It was a tragedy, but it really wasn't nothing big." Moss claimed that the quote was taken out of context.
Traffic incident
On September 24, 20022002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...
in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
, Moss was driving and was preparing to make an illegal turn. A traffic control officer (Amy Zaccardi), noticing what he was about to do, stood in front of his 2002 Lexus
Lexus
is the luxury vehicle division of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corporation. First introduced in 1989 in the United States, Lexus is now sold globally and has become Japan's largest-selling make of premium cars. The Lexus marque is marketed in over 70 countries and territories worldwide, and has...
car, ordering him to stop. Eyewitness accounts of the event differ at this point, but Moss did not comply with the officer's order, and she was bumped by his vehicle and fell to the ground. Moss was arrested, and a search of his vehicle revealed a joint amounting to less than a gram
Gram
The gram is a metric system unit of mass....
in his ashtray. Initially charged with felony Suspicion of Assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
with a Deadly Weapon and a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
marijuana possession, Moss spent the night in jail and was released the following morning. Moss pleaded guilty
Guilty
Guilty commonly refers to the feeling of guilt, an experience that occurs when a person believes that they have violated a moral standard.Guilty or The Guilty may also refer to:-Law:*Guilty plea, a formal admission of legal culpability...
to a misdemeanor traffic violation and was ordered to pay a $1,200 fine and perform 40 hours of community service. While the criminal charges were thus disposed of, the civil lawsuit filed by the traffic control officer brought a substantial penalty fine "in the low to mid six figures". Moss claimed that the joint was not his, and that he had let friends use his car prior to the accident.
Leaving the field during a game
During the last game of the 2004 regular season2004 NFL season
The 2004 NFL season was the 85th regular season of the National Football League.With the New England Patriots as the defending league champions, regular season play was held from September 9, 2004 to January 2, 2005...
against the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and with two seconds remaining on the game clock, Moss walked off the field and into the locker room; critics criticized Moss for quitting on his team. Moss stated afterward that he did not think Minnesota, who ended up losing 21–18 to Washington, would recover the onside kick
Onside kick
In American and Canadian football, an onside kick is a type of kick used at a kickoff or other free kick, or scrimmage kick or other kick during play, in which the ball is kicked favorably for the kicking team to avoid giving away the ball...
.
Playoff fully clothed mooning incident
On January 9, 2005, the Minnesota Vikings traveled to division rival Green Bay to take on the heavily favored PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
in an NFC wildcard playoff game. Moss finished the game with 4 catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns in the 31–17 win. After the second score, Moss trotted to the end zone goalpost and, facing away from the crowd, feigned pulling down his pants to moon
Mooning
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, whether also exposing the genitals or not...
the Green Bay fans. TV announcer Joe Buck
Joe Buck
Joseph Francis "Joe" Buck is an American sportscaster and the son of legendary sportscaster Jack Buck. He has won numerous Sports Emmy Awards for his play-by-play work with Fox Sports.-Education:...
, calling the game, was incensed, calling it "a disgusting act" on-air. Days later, the NFL fined him $10,000, finding it "unsportsmanlike" and "offensive" during the playoffs. However, then-Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
head coach Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy
Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy [DUN-jee] is a former professional American football player and coach in the National Football League. Dungy was head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996 to 2001, and head coach of the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008...
, the former Vikings defensive coordinator
Defensive coordinator
A defensive coordinator typically refers to a coach on a gridiron football team who is in charge of the defense. Generally, along with his offensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
, explained Moss' action by pointing out that Packers fans are infamous for actually mooning the buses of departing opponents after a loss, unlike Moss' fully clothed imitation.
Marijuana use
In April 1996, Randy Moss smoked a jointJoint (cannabis)
Joint is a slang term for a cigarette rolled using cannabis. Rolling papers are the most common rolling medium among industrialized countries, however brown paper, cigarettes with the tobacco removed, and newspaper are commonly used in developing countries. Modern papers are now made from a wide...
just prior to turning himself in to jail. He was scheduled to finish the remainder of his 30 day sentence for misdemeanor battery while in high school. During his first week in jail, Moss was given a drug test that came back positive. He was placed in solitary confinement for a week and had 60 days attached to his 27 day sentence. Bobby Bowden
Bobby Bowden
Robert Cleckler "Bobby" Bowden is a retired college football coach. He coached the Florida State Seminoles football team from the 1976 to 2009 seasons...
revoked his scholarship and Moss was dismissed from Florida State University for the failed drug test.
Chris Mortensen
Chris Mortensen
Chris "Mort" Mortensen , an award-winning journalist, provides reports for ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown, SportsCenter, ESPN Radio and ESPN.com...
of ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
reported that Moss tested positive in 2001 for marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
under the NFL's substance abuse program and was subject to additional random drug screening for two years. A first time violation of the NFL's drug policy can result in up to 10 tests per month. Moss has not failed an NFL drug test since, and was rotated out of the program after two years.
In August 2005, during an interview with Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Gumbel
Bryant Charles Gumbel is an American television journalist and sportscaster. He is best known for his 15 years as co-host of NBC's The Today Show. He is the younger brother of sportscaster Greg Gumbel.-Early life:...
, Moss admitted that he has smoked marijuana during his NFL career "every blue moon." When asked whether he still used marijuana currently, Moss replied "I might. I might have fun. And, you know, hopefully ... I won't get into any trouble by the NFL by saying that, you know. I have had fun throughout my years and, you know, predominantly in the offseason." The interview drew criticism from the league office, and his agent tried to spin it that his words were taken out of context. In response, Moss said "That was really me talking in the past tense of way back in the beginning of my career and my childhood – especially in high school and college."
Lack of effort
On November 14, 2006, Moss was honored for his success in college as a kick returnerKick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
by having an award named after him
Randy Moss Award
The Randy Moss Return Man Award is an award named after the former Marshall wide receiver and kick/punt returner Randy Moss. It is awarded annually after the post-season bowl games to the nation's top kick/punt returner in college football...
, becoming only one of two black athletes (along with John Mackey) so honored. During the press conference, Moss responded to questions about his dropped passes and lackluster effort in several games, saying "Maybe because I'm unhappy and I'm not too much excited about what's going on, so, my concentration and focus level tend to go down sometimes when I'm in a bad mood." Days later, he reiterated his unhappiness with losing games and being a member of the Raiders on his weekly segment with Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
, saying, "I might want to look forward to moving somewhere else next year to have another start and really feel good about going out here and playing football."
On May 15, 2007, more than two weeks after the trade to New England, Moss was called out by his former Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
coaches. His former offensive coordinator, Tom Walsh
Tom Walsh (coach)
Tom Walsh is a former NFL assistant coach, most recently with the Oakland Raiders. He was hired in February, 2006, as offensive coordinator by head coach Art Shell but demoted before the end of the 2006 season and replaced by John Shoop...
, who was fired from the Raiders after Oakland's 2–14 losing season, said of Moss, "Randy Moss is a player whose skills are diminishing, and he's in denial of those eroding skills...Randy was a great receiver, but he lacked the work ethic and the desire to cultivate any skills that would compensate for what he was losing physically later in his career." Walsh also reported that Moss told him, "'I'm too old to practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but I'm not too old to play on Sunday.'" However, Moss stated the losing seasons on the Oakland Raiders negatively affected his playing and discouraged him during the team's practice: "...Losing sometimes can get contagious, but as a player I can't let that settle in, and I think that's one of the things that bothered me [in Oakland]. I didn't want it to set in and it didn't set in. It was just really nerve-racking that it was hard for me to win."
In 2009, after a 20–10 win over the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
, Panthers cornerback Chris Gamble
Chris Gamble
Chris Lee Gamble is an American football player with the Carolina Panthers. During his NFL career Gamble has only played cornerback, but was briefly a wide receiver at the Ohio State University. He was converted into a cornerback during his sophomore year...
and safety Chris Harris accused Moss of giving up during the game. Gamble claimed Moss "gives up a lot" and that he "laid it down during the game", while Harris said "[Moss] kind of doesn't run the routes the way they're supposed to be run. If you get a jam on him, he'll ease up. ... If he can't get it going, he gets out of sync." Moss caught 1 pass for 16 yards, fumbled the ball once, and dropped a pass, as well as had a ball thrown at him picked off during the game. In response, Bill Belichick stated, "My response would be that's a lot of conversation coming from a team that just lost another game." Tom Brady noted that Gamble had many plays made on him as well.
Dating violence allegations
On January 15, 2008, OrlandoOrlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
-based radio station WDBO reported that Moss "ha[d] been hit with a temporary injunction for protection against dating violence. According to the affidavit Moss committed a battery upon Rachelle Washington, causing serious injury, and then refused to allow her to seek medical attention. The affidavit out of Broward County
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
reveals Moss cannot come within 500 feet of the victim and cannot use or possess firearms.
The next day, in a locker room press conference, Moss claimed the woman was simply looking for money "over an accident," because her lawyer came to his lawyer, threatening a lawsuit, and asking for money to settle before she went public to the media. Moss stated he had known Washington for about eleven years. He also stated in his defense that he has never assaulted a woman in his entire life, and asked that the media and fans "find out the facts" before "rush[ing] to judgment." Moreover, Moss' lawyer, in an e-mail to the Boston Globe accused the woman's lawyer of "blatant threats and attempts to extort money" from Moss. On March 3, 2008, Rachelle Washington filed papers with the Broward County Circuit Court clerk's office requesting that the restraining order be dissolved and the case closed. No criminal charges were ever filed in the incident.
Personal life
Moss' parents are Maxine Moss and Randy Pratt, although Moss has little contact with his father. He has a sister named Lutisia and a brother EricEric Moss
Eric Moss is a former professional American football player.Moss played college football at Ohio State University. He was an offensive tackle for the Minnesota Vikings in 1997 , and then played guard for the Scottish Claymores in the NFL Europe League in 1999.Moss is the older brother of NFL wide...
, who had a short stint in the NFL as an offensive lineman with the Minnesota Vikings. Moss has four children with his girlfriend, Libby Offutt (two daughters, Sydney and Senali, and two sons, Thaddeus and Montigo).
Division 1-A
- Most games with a touchdown reception in a season – 12 (1997 – tied with Larry FitzgeraldLarry FitzgeraldLarry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League, and currently ranks fourth all-time in league history in receiving yards per game for a career , behind Andre Johnson, Torry Holt, and Marvin Harrison...
in 2003)
Division 1-AA – Regular season
- Most games with a touchdown reception in a season – 11 (1996)
- Most consecutive games with a touchdown reception in a season – 11 (1996)
- Most receiving yards gained by a freshman in a season – 1073 (1996)
- Most touchdown receptions caught by a freshman in a season – 19 (1996 – record for all NCAA divisions)
Division 1-AA – Playoffs
- Most touchdown receptions in a single game – 4 (vs. Montana, Dec. 21, 1996)
- Most yards receiving in a single game – 288 (vs. Delaware, Nov. 30, 1996)
- Most touchdown receptions in a tournament – 9 (4 games in 1996)
- Most yards receiving in a tournament – 636 (4 games in 1996)
NFL records
- Most touchdown receptions in a season – 23 (2007)
- Most touchdown receptions by a rookie in a season – 17 (1998)
- Most seasons with 17 or more touchdown receptions – 3 (1998, 2003, 2007)
- Most seasons with 16 or more touchdown receptions – 3 (1998, 2003, 2007)
- Most seasons with 11 or more touchdown receptions – 8 – tied with Jerry Rice
- Most seasons with 10 or more touchdown receptions – 9 – tied with Jerry Rice
- Most games in a season with at least 2 touchdown receptions – 8 (2007)
- Only player to have 1,600 receiving yards and 16 receiving touchdowns in a season (2003)
- Most yards receiving in a Pro Bowl game – 212 (2000)
- Most touchdowns scored in first 10 games with a new team – 16 (2007)
- Most 1,200+ yard receiving seasons to start a career – 6 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
- Moss has averaged at least one receiving touchdown per game played in four different seasons: 19981998 Minnesota Vikings season1998 was the 38th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 79th regular season of the National Football League.The 1998 Minnesota Vikings became only the third team in NFL history to win 15 games during the regular season. That year, the Vikings high powered offense scored 556 points...
(17 TDs in 16 games), 20032003 Minnesota Vikings season2003 was the 43rd year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 84th regular season of the National Football League.The Vikings began 2003 with a fast 6-0 start...
(17 in 16), 20042004 Minnesota Vikings season2004 was the 44th year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 85th regular season of the National Football League.The Vikings finished the 2004 season going 3-7 over the final 10 weeks just like they did in 2003. However, they made the playoffs with an 8-8 record...
(13 in 13), and 20072007 New England Patriots seasonThe 2007 New England Patriots season was the 38th season for the team in the National Football League and 48th season overall. They finished with a perfect 16–0 regular season record but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII....
(23 in 16) - At the end of the 2008 season, Moss averaged 12.3 receiving TDs per season
- Four 100+ yard games in his first four games with a new team in 2007
- Youngest player in NFL history to record his 100th receiving touchdown – (29 years and 235 days)
- Youngest player in NFL history to record his 120th receiving touchdown – (30 years, 313 days)
- Fastest player to reach 5,000 career receiving yards – 59 games (broke record of 61 games by Jerry Rice)
- Highest career yards per catch average for any player with 900+ receptions – 15.6 yards per reception
- Youngest player to have 3 touchdown receptions in a game (21 years, 286 days)
Career highlights
- 4-time All-Pro selection.
- Is second on the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
all-time receiving touchdown list with 92. Cris CarterCris CarterCristopher D. Carter is a former American football player in the National Football League. He played wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles , the Minnesota Vikings and the Miami Dolphins ....
holds the record with 110 receiving scores. - Caught his 100th touchdown pass in 2006 against San Francisco (on a pass he caught with his legs), the seventh player to do so.
- Holds the record for most touchdowns in Minnesota Vikings playoff history with 8.
- 10 1,000+ yard receiving seasons – 2nd all-time
- 64 career 100 yard games – 2nd all-time; most recent November 15, 2009
- 153 touchdown receptions – 2nd all-time
- 73.6 receiving yards per game – 7th all-time
- 154 total touchdowns scored – 4th all-time
- 14,858 receiving yards – 6th all-time
- 954 career receptions – 10th all-time
- Has completed 4 of 8 passes for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception, giving him a 95.8 passer rating.
- Only player to catch 90+ touchdown passes, return a punt for a touchdown, and throw 2 touchdown passes.
- Has played on the two highest scoring teams (for a single season) in NFL history: 2007 Patriots (589 points) and the 1998 Vikings (556 points)
- Had a career-high 12 receptions for 204 yards against the Chicago Bears, at Soldier Field, on November 14, 1999 in a 27–24 overtime win.
- Holds the Vikings record for most 100 yard receiving games with 41.
- Has two touchdowns or more in 39 different games (including 3 in the postseason); most recent September 26, 2010
- Has two touchdown receptions or more in 37 different games – (2nd all-time)
- Has three touchdowns touchdown receptions or more in 9 different games – (2nd all-time): at Dallas (Nov. 26, 1998), a 46–36 victory; vs. Chicago (Dec. 6, 1998), a 48–22 victory; at Detroit (Oct. 1, 2000), a 31–24 victory; vs. New York Giants (November 19, 2001) a 28–16 victory; vs. San Francisco (Sep. 28, 2003), a 35–7 victory; at Buffalo (November 18, 2007), a 56–10 victory; at Miami (November 23, 2008), a 48–28 victory; vs. Tennessee (October 18, 2009), a 59–0 victory; vs. Jacksonville (December 27, 2009), a 35–7 victory.
- Caught a career high four touchdowns at Buffalo (all in the first half). (Nov. 18, 2007)
- Had an interception while playing defense in the last few seconds of the first half of the Patriots'New England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
game against the Denver BroncosDenver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on October 11, 2009. - Has 4 career two-point conversions
- Youngest player in NFL history to record his 120th receiving touchdown. (30 years, 313 days)
Randy Moss Motorsports
On April 29, 2008, Moss announced the formation of Randy Moss Motorsports, an auto racingAuto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
team intended to begin participation in the NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Craftsman Truck Series
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...
. In July 2008, Moss announced that he had bought a 50 percent share in Morgan-Dollar Motorsports, with the team's #46 entry switching to #81.