Favre finally gets his wish: Moss

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This article was published 07/10/2010 (5819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Brett Favre finally got his wish. He will be playing with Randy Moss and the Vikings couldn’t be happier about it.

The Super-Bowl-or-bust Vikings got Moss from New England on Wednesday for a 2011 draft pick, another eye-opening acquisition that comes just in time to rejuvenate a stagnant offence for a challenging stretch of games.

The Patriots gave the seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver the exit he expected and sent him back to the team that turned him into a superstar after drafting him in the first round in 1998.

There are still plenty of fond memories around here of Moss’s electrifying performances, along with his colourful comments and contrarian behaviour.

“He can still go downtown and get the football, which is a stand-alone factor,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said. “He could sprain his toe here sometime coming up, and you could say that he’s 33, it’s old age. But there’s always risk-reward. I don’t necessarily see this as boom or bust. I think he’s got some more football in him.”

The Vikings play at New York on Monday night, and Childress said Moss would be in uniform against the Jets — in his old purple No. 84.

“Man, we wish this would have happened a week later,” Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson said.

The drama will be high around here all month. Check out Minnesota’s last two games in October: at rival Green Bay, and then at New England.

“In this business, there are complex and often difficult decisions, but it is my responsibility to make them based on what I feel is best for our football team, in both the short term and long term,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have coached Randy Moss and aside from facing him as an opponent, I wish him the very best…”

The Vikings didn’t practise on Wednesday. Moss is expected to join the team today.

He will move from catching passes from Tom Brady to Favre, who desperately needed a downfield threat after Pro Bowl receiver Sidney Rice had hip surgery in August. Struggling Bernard Berrian has been a non-factor, and Percy Harvin — when healthy — is better suited for the slot position.

“This is an exciting move; I think everybody feels that in the locker-room,” Favre said on the team’s website. “It’s rare you get to play with a future Hall of Famer and get to appreciate their talents up close. Randy Moss is a great player and his career speaks for itself. I’ve admired him from a distance for a long time, and you can’t help but be impressed by the guy.”

Childress, though, denied on Wednesday that Favre lobbied for this move. The coach said owner Zygi Wilf gave his blessing on Monday.

“I don’t think any of us thought this guy was going to be available,” Childress said.

Moss spent his first seven seasons in Minnesota, where he set all kinds of records and became one of the most exciting playmakers in the league.

— The Associated Press