Did Randy Moss Really Just Retire?

Randy Moss announced earlier today that he will be retiring from the NFL. Moss was drafted back in 1998 by the Minnesota Vikings and is a lock for the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Other than the Vikings, Moss also played for the Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, and Tennessee Titans during his 13-year career. He totaled 954 receptions and 153 touchdowns to go along with 14,858 receiving yards. Moss had his best season in 2007 when he set the single season record for touchdown catches with 23 while playing in New England.

But it has not all been smooth sailing for the former wide-out. Controversy has followed Moss throughout his impressive career. One of Moss' most remembered moments will be in Green Bay back in 2005 during a playoff game. After catching a touchdown, Moss pretended to pull down his pants to moon the Packer faithful. He has also left the field before a game had finished and some have complained about Moss' lack of effort at times.

Although he had a disappointing season last year, Moss could still be quite productive for a team this year. One problem is that he is demanding a lot of money considering Bill Belichick could not handle him very well last year and he was a big distraction both in Minnesota and Tennessee after leaving New England. If he was trouble last year, most coaches will not take the risk and invest in Moss unless it is not a big contract.

That being said, I find it very hard to believe that Moss is really retired. Moss will be back in the NFL at some point in 2011.

Is Randy Moss Coming Back to New England?

Former NFL wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson says that Randy Moss should return to his former team, the New England Patriots. He claims that Tom Brady and Randy Moss were very successful together and thinks that Moss still has a lot left in him. This is a very interesting claim by Johnson (who is actually good friends with Bill Belichick), but could it work? And would Belichick even consider it?

Randy Moss had a very successful three plus years while playing along the greatest quarterback ever, Tom Brady. He set the single season record for most touchdown receptions in 2007 with 23 and hauled in a total of 50 touchdowns while playing his home games in Foxborough. But after being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Moss only had two touchdown receptions in four games played. And after being claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans in that same season, Moss recorded zero touchdowns in eight games played.

There are probably only a few teams that would take a risk and sign Moss and the Patriots are probably one of them. Rumor has it that they were interested in claiming Moss off waivers when the Minnesota Vikings put him on it last year. Another team that may have interest in Moss is division rival New York Jets. My guess is Moss would not sign with if he had other options but he may not have any.

Back to the Patriots, would Belichick want him back after the offense averaged 32.4 points per game but had a difficult time moving the ball against the Jets in the playoffs? Both Brandon Tate and Taylor Price are expected to have bigger roles in the upcoming season, but will they provide enough depth on the outside along with Deion Branch and Matthew Slater in the Patriots west coast offense? My guess is the Patriots would like to have one more threat outside because Branch is getting older and they are probably not sold on Price and Slater yet. Without many teams going hard after Moss, the Patriots may also be able to get him at a discount since Moss has made it clear recently that he would like to be reunited with Brady and Belichick. This could be a very interesting next few days.