Randy Moss No Longer on Tap for Monday Night Football
Dustin Baker
|
Former Minnesota Vikings wideout and Hall of Famer Randy Moss remains in the saddle for Sunday NFL Countdown but will no longer contribute to ESPN’s Monday Night Football, according to the New York Post.
The decision was Moss’ own and should not be considered a “forced-out” situation.
Moss, 45, joined ESPN in 2016, providing pregame analysis and is one of the network’s prized commodities. His “You Got Mossed” segment, a weekly feature of wide receivers catching passes in Moss-like fashion, has grown in popularity in recent years.
The reasoning for Moss’ Monday Night departure isn’t immediately clear, but some cite travel as a contributing factor. The Monday Night Football schedule demands a commute to new cities each week from September through early January, and perhaps Moss prefers a simpler trip to Bristol, Connecticut, where ESPN is headquartered.
Moss ranks second all-time in receiving touchdowns behind Jerry Rice. He’s also the NFL’s fourth-leading receiver in league history, trailing only Rice, Larry Fitzgerald, and Terrell Owens. The closest active touchdown suitor to Moss is free-agent tight end Jimmy Graham, who is a mile behind the former Viking. Julio Jones is the closest active player to Moss in receiving yards.
Inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, Moss is still semi-active in the Vikings community.
In 2021, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson came within 16 yards of Moss’ Vikings single-season receiving yards record. But with the franchise record in Jefferson’s grasp during a Week 18 game, former head coach Mike Zimmer opted to finish the game without targeting Jefferson.
The Vikings have no Sunday Night Football games scheduled in 2022 but will play once on Monday night versus the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2 and on Thanksgiving night against the New England Patriots.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
Vikings Territory: Ex-Vikings QB Sharpens Longstanding Criticism of Kirk Cousins
You must be logged in to post a comment.