ALAMEDA, Calif. (April 29, 2007) -- The Oakland Raiders cut ties with Randy Moss after two unproductive seasons, sending the former Pro Bowl receiver to the New England Patriots for a fourth-round draft pick.
Moss was disgruntled for most of his two seasons in Oakland, and said frequently last season he thought he'd be better off with another team. He wanted to be dealt either to New England or Green Bay and got his wish.
Moss said he was thrilled to be with the Patriots, who won three of the last six Super Bowls, and re-negotiated a contract that had two years left.
"I'm still overwhelmed and, at the same time, kind of star-struck that I'm part of this New England Patriots organization," he said during a conference call.
Raiders coach Lane Kiffin wanted to deal Moss before next weekend's mandatory minicamp. Moss had not participated in any of the team's offseason workouts and the Raiders were unsure if he'd attend the minicamp.
"We felt this was the best scenario for both the Raiders and Randy," Kiffin said. "We wish him nothing but the best."
With the Patriots, Moss will be teamed with three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady, who now has plenty of talented receivers to throw to on offense. New England has already added three other wide receivers this offseason: Wes Welker in a trade with Miami, and Donte' Stallworth and Kelley Washington as free agents.
New England began rebuilding its receiver corps last year after losing its top two receivers from 2005. Leading receiver Deion Branch, after a contract dispute, was traded to Seattle the day after the season opener, in which he didn't play. Earlier, David Givens signed as a free agent with Tennessee.
The Patriots ended last season with Reche Caldwell, Jabar Gaffney and Troy Brown as their top three receivers. Brown is a free agent, while Caldwell and Gaffney are signed through the 2008 season.
Oakland gave up the seventh overall pick in 2005, linebacker Napoleon Harris and a seventh-round pick to Minnesota for Moss in 2005. Moss, who made five Pro Bowls in seven seasons with Minnesota, had 102 catches for 1,558 yards and 11 touchdowns with the Raiders. He had career lows last season with 42 catches for 553 yards and three touchdowns.
"I know there are some things that I've done in the past," Moss said, "but I think that's all behind me. I'm really not living in the past."
While in Minnesota, where he spent his first seven seasons, Moss was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during a Vikings playoff win, and also drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a regular-season loss to Washington.
He also bumped a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abused corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirted an official with a water bottle in 1999.
He stressed Sunday that his frustrations with not winning affected him. His addition should improve the Patriots championship prospects.
"You're going to really see some things that you've never seen before," Moss said, "and when it does happen, don't say I didn't tell you."
The deal leaves the Raiders with Jerry Porter, Ronald Curry, Doug Gabriel and newly acquired Mike Williams as their top receivers. Oakland traded a fourth-round pick for Williams and quarterback Josh McCown of Detroit.
Williams, who played for Kiffin in college at USC, struggled in two NFL seasons since being drafted by Detroit with the 10th pick in 2005. He started only six games in Detroit, making 37 catches for 449 yards and two touchdowns.
The Raiders selected cornerback John Bowie from Cincinnati with the pick they got from New England.
