The media is abuzz today with the news that the Patriots might trade seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings, the team that drafted No. 81 in 1998 as a first-round pick.
What *FoxSports.com* first reported, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter is confirming, that the "Patriots have agreed to a blockbuster trade that will send [the] Pro Bowl wide receiver back to Minnesota for the Vikings' 2011 third-round pick."
Yet Patriots vice president of media relations Stacey James told ESPNBoston.com that they have not traded Moss yet.
The *Boston Herald* confirms the transaction, however. Read a similar story in the *Boston Globe*.
The *Herald* also reports that Moss had requested to be traded as early as just after week 1.
The trade makes sense for the Vikings, as they are in desperate need of a "star-caliber" receiver, with Sidney Rice out for at least the first six weeks.
"Without the deep threat that [Vikings quarterback Brett Favre] had in Rice, Favre's production has dropped dramatically," *ESPNBoston.com* writes. "The Vikings have lost two of their first three games and their receiving group lacks the prototypical big-play receiver who can out-jump smaller cornerbacks for passes down the field.
"That's Moss in a nutshell."
According to ESPN's *New England Patriots Blog*, the trade may not make as much sense for the Patriots.
Yet Moss is still only one man. Perhaps nay-sayers to the apparent trade of No. 81 can take a page from newest Pats receiver Danny Woodhead's book.
"This team is filled with a lot of great players, top to bottom," Woodhead told *The Providence Journal*, taking focus off himself after his 8-36 running performance (one TD) and a tackle on special teams during Monday night's 41-14 rout of Miami. "The way they work together is most important. The best thing about this team is that it's filled with selfless players. Everyone wants to win. It's not a 'me' thing."
Patriots coach Bill Belichick was "all smiles" on Monday night. The *Boston Globe* asks the question "Is it possible we are seeing a return to 2007?"
Finally, the Patriots have released practice-squad running back Javarris James. Read about it on *Boston.com* and *ESPNBoston.com*.
