Moss Reportedly Dealt

[membengal]

Soooo glad it's not to Baltimore.

[BengalNation1281]

Fear the dreaded Kerry Collins/Randy Moss connection!

So with Moss in the fold, I see the Raiders improving to 6-10 in 2005.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

woo, dodged two bullets with ravens, watch for them to go after burress or mason or coles now

[Ox]

Doesn't matter, they still only have big Kyle to throw to them. Wow I hate the Ravens.

[turningpoint]

i just don't get it.

They resigned Jerry Porter, just yesterday, and don't they have that Qb turned Wr, who had a pretty good year last year?

Unless Randy Is playing RB or TE, this is a good move.

[not-another]

That was a match made in football heaven. Moss is annoying, so is Oakland Raiders fans. Everytime I think of Oakland I think of the "black hole", the endzone were the opposing team players get clomped with batteries.

[jjakq27]

"Crank up the presses, I need more jersey's", Tagliabue says.

$$$

[Bobcat Bengal]

I wonder how Kita feels about this.....

Kita?

You there girl?

[jjakq27]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/3415820

Vikings agree to trade Moss to Raiders

Jon Krawczynski / Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Randy Moss is heading to Oakland, the receiver's agent said Wednesday.

Dante DiTrapano, Moss' agent, told The Associated Press that the Minnesota Vikings and the Raiders had "come to an agreement on Randy playing for Oakland next year."

What makes Moss a perfect fit for the Silver and Black is that when playing for Davis, Moss the uber-talented receiver and Moss the mercurial personality can co-exist in the safe haven of Raider Nation.

For dealing with all of Moss' antics out of bounds and off the field, what he did on the field was worth the price. The Vikings once wisely took a chance on Moss in the draft. The Raiders will be very happy to be the second NFL team to take a chance on Moss.

Neither the Vikings nor the Raiders would confirm the deal, which was first reported by the St. Paul Pioneer Press on its Web site.

"We have had discussions with the Oakland Raiders, but there's nothing to announce," Rob Brzezinski, Minnesota's vice president of football operations, told The Associated Press.

Raiders spokesman Mike Taylor declined comment on the trade reports.

FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer has learned that the Vikings and the Oakland Raiders have agreed to a trade that will send All-Pro wide receiver Randy Moss to Oakland in exchange for the Raider's first-round pick this year, a seventh-round choice and linebacker Napoleon Harris, a former first-rounder himself.

The Raiders will likely want to restructure Moss' deal to make it more cap-friendly, but the trade is not contingent on such a move.

Quarterback Daunte Culpepper told FOXSports.com at the Pro Bowl that while he hoped to have Moss around for his entire career, he was done smoothing things over between Moss and the team. Culpepper added that Moss walking off the field prematurely this past season was "terrible, how can I justify that. That was terrible."

The deal cannot become official until March 2, the start of the NFL's fiscal year.

"It's just like any other contract. There's a meeting of the minds between the people who negotiate for the Vikings and the people who negotiate for the Raiders," DiTrapano said. "It just hasn't been reduced to writing and it won't be until March 2."

Moss is due to make $7.25 million next year. Harris is due to make $5.41 million.

The flamboyant Moss had been the subject of trade rumors following this past season. He struggled with a hamstring injury, but still finished with 13 touchdown catches. He was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during Minnesota's playoff win. He also drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a regular-season loss against Washington.

Team leaders Matt Birk and Daunte Culpepper confronted Moss after he walked off at Washington, and the organization's patience with the receiver seemed to dwindle in the past year or so.

"He's my good friend, but you almost get to thinking that maybe enough is enough," Culpepper said earlier this month at the Pro Bowl. "And maybe the Vikings organization has had enough."

DiTrapano said Moss was "very pleased to be going to Oakland and looking forward to playing with a team that's promised they're going to throw the ball deep a whole lot to him and having a chance at winning the Super Bowl."

"He doesn't leave Minnesota with any grudges," DiTrapano said. "It just was frustrating for him to lose."

He leaves Minnesota as the only receiver in NFL history to start his career with six straight 1,000-yard seasons. Last year he had 49 catches for 767 yards and 13 touchdowns while battling a hamstring injury.

On Tuesday, the Raiders re-signed Jerry Porter, their top wide receiver to a contract worth $20 million over five years. Porter could have become a free agent on March 2.

Dave Campbell, in Fort Myers, Fla., and Doug Glass, in Minneapolis, contributed to this report.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Collins can still get it done, he certainly did at times last year, now he has Moss and Porter to throw to.

With no running game (yet) and losing Harris not sure what the rest of the team will be like, but it will be interesting to see Moss catching passes from someone other than Culpepper.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I wonder how Kita feels about this.....

Kita?

You there girl?

I was thinking the same thing. I'm surprised she ain't been here tooting her Raider horn over this trade! Still...I miss her.

[HoosierCat]

Soooo glad it's not to Baltimore.

No doubt. According to the gossipers over at profootballtalk.com, the Ravens were who the Vikes wanted to cut a deal with, for either Ed Reed or Suggs. Baltimore had 0 interest.

Re the Moss deal...I dunno. My first impression is actually that the Vikes came out ahead. The get a solid LB and the seventh overall pick (which they could use on, say, Mike Williams) in return for the WR version of CD. The Raiders, meanwhile, get one of the best WRs in the game right now, but give up 2 picks + a defender to do it, when their D was awful last season (31 in points, 30 in yards). Huh?

[bengalboomer7]

The vikings got burned on this one.Sure, they get the seventh pick (in a weak draft, I might add) They get a young linebacker who's been a dissapointment so far(Vikings got plenty of backers anyway) and another late pick. It tookl just this to get the most conterversial yet GREATEST reciever in the game. I'd been hearing for weeks how the vikes were going to try a "reverse hershal" deal and that certainly wasn't it!

[skyline]

When I first saw this topic, I thought it said "Moss reportedly dead".

I'm a bit slow sometimes

[HoosierCat]

The vikings got burned on this one.Sure, they get the seventh pick (in a weak draft, I might add) They get a young linebacker who's been a dissapointment so far(Vikings got plenty of backers anyway) and another late pick. It tookl just this to get the most conterversial yet GREATEST reciever in the game.

Whether Moss is the greatest in the game or not doesn't enter into it, the question is, do the two teams benefit from the trade? I think the Vikes do more than Oakland. Minnesota was 6-6 last year in games with Moss, and 3-3 in games without him. So for whatever reason -- his attitude, a failure to use him correctly, I dunno -- Moss wasn't crucial to their success, or lack thereof. With the 7th pick, they could take someone like Mike Williams or Troy Williamson. And then they have Harris + their original pick to shore up the D. Chris's Bengalszone mock has Williams still on the board at 7, and DT Travis Johnson and DE Erasmus James still around for their second pick. So let's say the Vikes walk away from round one with Williams, James and Harris in the bargain, vs. the loss of Moss. I think that's a net plus for them.

On the other side of the board, Oakland has Randy Moss. Well, that's great, but considering the ranked 8th in passing yards last year, versus 32nd in rushing yards, you have to ask, WTF? Trading for Edge or Alexander or even Rudi I can understand, but Moss? Especially after you just re-upped Porter. Their problem in the passing game wasn't at WR, it was Collins throwing picks like he was, well, Carson Palmer. And while Harris may have underachieved, the whole Oakland D blows right now. Who knows how much of that is him and how much is just all the crap around him and/or poor coaching? Same thing was said about Deltha last year and that certainly worked out.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Their problem in the passing game wasn't at WR, it was Collins throwing picks like he was, well, Carson Palmer.

I was thinking the same thing. On the other hand, Al Davis may be looking at Jeff Garcia at QB for all we know!

[HoosierCat]

Their problem in the passing game wasn't at WR, it was Collins throwing picks like he was, well, Carson Palmer.

I was thinking the same thing. On the other hand, Al Davis may be looking at Jeff Garcia at QB for all we know!

I took a quick pass over at the Raiders' forum and they seem pretty conflicted about the deal. Oakland is still over the cap and a lot of them think this signals that Woodson will be dealt. Shrug. Who knows what goes through the mind of Al Davis?

[ckj414]

Fear the dreaded Kerry Collins/Randy Moss connection!

So with Moss in the fold, I see the Raiders improving to 6-10 in 2005.

I don't know how much, if any, they'll improve, but Kerry Collins throws the deep ball as good as anyone. Collins to Moss/Porter is going to give teams fits, especially if the Raiders OL comes of age.

[jjakq27]

http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/OAK/8245462

Moss' trade to Raiders is made official

NFL.com wire reports

ALAMEDA, Calif. (March 2, 2005) -- Randy Moss feels like a newlywed.

After comparing his rocky seven-year tenure with Minnesota to a long marriage, Moss hit the honeymoon phase with his new team, joining the Oakland Raiders and getting the royal treatment.

"I'm in love right now," Moss said, beaming in his new black No. 18 jersey, his hair in cornrows.

The star receiver arrived at team headquarters in a stretch limousine escorted by seven police officers on motorcycles, all but the lieutenant from the Alameda Police Department's fleet. He'd have been there, but had a prior meeting.

Moss was greeted by fans and the franchise's three Super Bowl trophies.

His four kids all received care packages from the team: Raiders T-shirts, hats and jackets.

The only thing missing was owner Al Davis himself.

"Since Day 1, the only thing that Mr. Al Davis and his organization have shown is straight Class A hospitality, and I can really appreciate that," Moss said. "I'm overwhelmed by it, I really am."

Moss was introduced by the Raiders once his trade from the Vikings was complete. The Raiders were working to restructure his 2005 base salary into a more cap-friendly signing bonus to be prorated over future years.

The Vikings receive linebacker Napoleon Harris, the No. 7 pick in the 2005 NFL Draft and a late-round pick in the swap, which was done a week ago, but couldn't be made official until today.

"I've still got love in Minnesota," Moss said, "but with the Oakland Raiders, I get a new start and a chance to go to the Super Bowl."

As part of that new start, Moss is changing his jersey number from 84 back to 18, the number he wore when he came into the league in 1998. The Vikings, meanwhile, were preparing to move on without their franchise man.

"Randy is a phenomenal player and meant a lot to the community and the Vikings organization," said Vikings owner Red McCombs, who called a news conference for March 3 to discuss the deal. "But, we have decided to go in a different direction at this point. We wish Randy the best in the future."

Moss said he was nervous when introduced, but he was already comfortable with Davis' longtime catch phrases.

"Who wouldn't want to be in the Silver and Black?" Moss asked. "I'm committed to excellence and I just want to win, baby."

Moss, 28, will provide a huge upgrade to an offense determined to return to the high-powered vertical passing game of years past. It was their proficient passing attack that led the Raiders to the Super Bowl after the 2002 season won 48-21 by Tampa Bay.

"I don't see this team slipping with the addition of me. I just see them adding more firepower," Moss said.

Quarterback Kerry Collins couldn't be happier with the acquisition.

"If he's not the best, he's certainly one of the best," Collins said. "You can make a strong argument. Everybody has their own opinions. But ask any quarterback around the league which receiver they'd want, and I think most would say Randy Moss."

Moss spent much of last season limited by a hamstring injury and didn't reach 1,000 yards receiving for the first time in his seven-year career. He finished with 49 catches for 767 yards and 13 touchdowns.

"The coaches at Chicago, Green Bay and Detroit are so happy this trade was made and they won't see him two times a year," Raiders coach Norv Turner said. "We're so happy to have him and we'll know how to use him."

Moss joins Jerry Porter in a talented young receiving corps. Porter led the Raiders with 64 catches for 998 yards and nine touchdowns, falling just short of his first 1,000-yard season. His receptions were a career high, and he scored three touchdowns in a game twice.

"We've got to check our egos, and the ball has to be distributed in a way to make everybody happy," said Porter, who re-signed for five years last week.

Several of Moss' new teammates have said they aren't worried about his sometimes controversial antics.

"Hopefully, the people love me and will accept me, and I'm just here to make the best of another opportunity," Moss said.

Moss was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during Minnesota's playoff victory and also drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in the regular-season finale against Washington.

Other transgressions included bumping a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abusing corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirting an official with a water bottle in 1999, in addition to his infamous "I play when I want to play" comments.

He believes he's been misunderstood at times.

"If there's anything I could say, it's just my passion and desire to win, week in and week out," Moss said. "I mean, I love to win. I love to compete. And when I win, I like to talk trash. And when I lose, I don't like trash to be talked to me. I mean, that's the competitor in me. That's the competitive edge that I have inside of me, that God has given me, and he has given me the talent to go out and showcase."

[CTBengalsFan]

Soooo glad it's not to Baltimore.

No doubt. According to the gossipers over at profootballtalk.com, the Ravens were who the Vikes wanted to cut a deal with, for either Ed Reed or Suggs. Baltimore had 0 interest.

Re the Moss deal...I dunno. My first impression is actually that the Vikes came out ahead. The get a solid LB and the seventh overall pick (which they could use on, say, Mike Williams) in return for the WR version of CD. The Raiders, meanwhile, get one of the best WRs in the game right now, but give up 2 picks + a defender to do it, when their D was awful last season (31 in points, 30 in yards). Huh?

Aren't the Raiders over the cap BY A LOT?

Like even before getting Moss, and now Jordan?

[jjakq27]

"Crank up the presses, I need more jersey's", Tagliabue says.

$$$

Come and get 'em......

http://mvp.com/product/index.jsp?productId...rentPage=family