Revisiting the Randy Moss Trade 20 Years Later
The Minnesota Vikings have had many great players since coming into the NFL in 1961.
One of the greatest and most popular players in team history is Randy Moss, a wide receiver from Rand, VA.
Revisiting the Randy Moss Trade 20 Years Later
To this day many fans still wear no. 84 Vikings shirts and jerseys (not Josh Oliver or Cordarrelle Patterson, by the way).
Why would they not? Even fans who never saw him play or only did in his brief stint back with the team in 2010 know about his impact on the field and how much he changed how defenses play and injected more life into the franchise.
It has now been 20 years since Moss was traded to the then Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris, the seventh overall pick (later became Troy Williamson) and a seventh-round pick. Some fans were happy to see the talented yet controversial player be sent away. Many were very disappointed and still are 20 years later that it happened.
Was it one of the worst moves in team history? To an extent, it really was. Harris was average at best, and Williamson is one of the worst draft picks in team history.
It later benefitted both sides, too. Yes, that sounds crazy, but it did.
In the first two years, Minnesota and Moss did not benefit from the split. Minnesota went 15-17 those years and missed the playoffs both times. In his two years in Oakland, Moss did not look like one of the best players in the league from 1998-2004. Many factors played into that, including not giving that much effort (that is a rap that still stays with him). He also dealt with injuries, and it certainly did not help that his quarterbacks were Kerry Collins, Aaron Brooks, and Andrew Walter.
How did both sides benefit later?
Well, Minnesota had the seventh overall pick in 2007, which allowed them to get a future Hall of Fame running back by the name of Adrian Peterson. Like Moss, he was a joy to watch and made plays from day one in the league. Right after Moss was also traded, it gave Minnesota extra cap space, which made it easier for them to add players such as Pat Williams, Steve Hutchinson (Hall of Famer), and Jared Allen — also made it easier for them to re-sign key players such as Bryant McKinnie, Antoine Winfield, Kevin Williams and E.J. Henderson.
Would they have been able to make all of those moves while Moss was still making big money? No. Most of them? Yes, it is possible, but they also very likely would have missed out on drafting Peterson two years after moving him. The higher pick in 2008 (17th overall) also made it easier for them to trade for Jared Allen, who was named to the Hall of Fame, by the way. They also gave up two third-round picks.
Sidney Rice in 2009 caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns. Moss-like numbers, but on a rookie deal.
Moss benefitted by being traded to the New England Patriots in 2007. He got to play with arguably the greatest player in NFL history in Tom Brady and one of the greatest coaches in history in Bill Belichick. After two down years in Oakland, Moss once again became the player that teams feared during his Minnesota days.
In his first season in New England, he caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes and helped the team go 16-0 (the only team to do that in history). They also broke the scoring record previously held by his former 1998 Minnesota team. Moss then caught 11 touchdowns the following year with Matt Cassel as his quarterback, and in 2009, he caught 13 from Brady, which was a league-high.
The 2009 Minnesota team fell short of the Super Bowl with a crushing 31-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game. New England in 2007 fell short against the New Giants 17-14 in the Super Bowl.
In the end, Moss should have won a championship in 2007 with New England, and Minnesota should have in 2009. Had those two things happened, many very likely would have been talking plenty about how both sides benefitted from the split. They still did, even without getting rings.
Would 2009 Minnesota have been as good if they had never traded Moss? Very likely, no. That certainly does not take away what Moss accomplished in Minnesota and in the NFL as a whole. He should forever receive plenty of credit for how he played in Minnesota and for helping jumpstart the franchise. Before they drafted him, Minnesota was having trouble selling out games and had not advanced to the NFC Championship Game since 1987. They sold out every game from 1998-2004 and advanced to two NFC Championship Games in his first three seasons (should have advanced to the Super Bowl in his rookie season).
Many fans would have loved seeing Moss spend his entire career in Minnesota. It’s very hard to blame them. Even if that did not lead to a Super Bowl appearance or win, they can always say it has not happened anyway since he was moved. It is also infrequent for players now to spend their whole career with one team. Larry Fitzgerald was one of the very rare ones. He played for the Arizona Cardinals from 2004-2020. Maybe Justin Jefferson will only play in Minnesota.
Legends Barry Sanders, John Elway, and Dan Marino each spent their whole careers with one team. It was more common back then.
Moss played in two Super Bowls (2007 and 2012) without wearing the purple and gold, nearly winning both.
Could Minnesota still have found a way to at least make it to the Super Bowl if Moss spent his entire career there? Maybe it would have happened, but maybe not. We, of course, will never know.
Sure, it still would have been great if Moss spent his entire career in Minnesota, but again, it worked out for both parties in the end. Sometimes, moving on from one of your best players in franchise history can be beneficial, even if the results do not show right away. Some fans may believe that deep down inside but sometimes have trouble admitting to it. It is never easy saying goodbye to your favorite players, but in the end, it is part of the business, and once again, it is rare now for players to spend their whole careers in one place.
Minnesota fans, of course, are hoping now that not only will Jefferson play in Minnesota but also help them win their first-ever Super Bowl. Maybe both will happen.
You must be logged in to post a comment.