By Winslow Townson, AP
PHOTOS: Randy Moss through the years
Moss, 34, was often linked to the New York Jets as a destination for 2011, but they signed WR Plaxico Burress yesterday.
Moss played for three teams in 2010 -- he was traded from New England to Minnesota last October, waived by the Vikings in November before finishing out with Tennessee -- and had his least productive season (28 catches, 393 yards, 5 TDs).
But his career totals -- 954 grabs (8th all-time) for 14,858 yards (5th) and those 153 scores (tied for second all-time behind Jerry Rice's 197) -- will almost certainly land him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He led the NFL in TD catches five times and snared 23 in 2007, a single-season record."I don't want to say he was the best ever deep threat, because a threat is something you make without doing something. He did it," Hall-of-Fame WR James Lofton, who knows something about stretching the field, told USA TODAY's Robert Klemko.
Joel Segal, Moss' agent, told NFL Network and ESPN of his client's decision.
Moss was a first-round pick out of Marshall in 1998, taken 21st overall, though concerns about his off-field behavior prevented him from going much earlier. He responded by winning offensive rookie of the year honors, catching 69 passes for 1,313 yards and 17 TDs -- deemed the best rookie season ever by NFL Network.
Moss had a forgettable two-year stint with the Raiders after spending his first seven years in Minnesota. But he revived his career after being dealt to the Patriots during the 2007 NFL draft.
He did have some infamous incidents -- squirting a water bottle at a referee; a (literal) run-in with a Minnesota meter maid; mooning Packers fans at Lambeau Field after catching a TD in the playoffs; and walking off the field before time expired in a three-point loss to the Redskins (his last regular-season game in his first stint with the Vikings) -- but Moss was also a dynamic offensive force with his sticky fingers, leaping ability and propensity for leaving defensive backs in his long-striding wake.
"His body control, his ability to slow himself, elevate, and position himself is unbelievable, better than anybody I've ever seen play the game," said Lofton.
"He had a phenomenal presence on the football field. He was a player that defenses had to adjust to and really didn't do a very good job of it."
One of Moss' former teammates thinks he's got enough of that ability left that he'll actually pull a Brett Favre (Moss' quarterback briefly in 2010) and unretire in short order.
"He's as talented a guy as I've ever seen play the game. He's a guy with some pride, and more than anything else in the past few years he's thinking about his legacy," said ESPN analyst Robert Smith, who played with Moss on the Vikings from 1998-2000.
"Without a Super Bowl, I think he can't help but look at his resume and say that it was a disappointment. I would be completely surprised if he was actually retired."
Contributing: Robert Klemko
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