FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots re-signed wide receiver Randy Moss and signed unrestricted free agent wide receiver Sam Aiken today. Terms of the agreements were not disclosed.
Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick on Randy Moss
"What Randy did for our team last year was outstanding. He is one of our most consistent, competitive and team-oriented players and it is undoubtedly a relationship we are excited to continue."
Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick on Sam Aiken
"Competing against Sam many times over the years, we know firsthand what he brings to us. We're glad he is a Patriot."
Randy Moss, 31, is a veteran of 10 NFL seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (1998-2004), Oakland Raiders (2005-06) and Patriots (2007). The 6-foot-4-inch, 210-pound wide receiver has played in 154 career games with 148 starts and has caught 774 passes for 12,193 yards (15.8 avg.) and 124 touchdowns. He holds the NFL single-season record for touchdown receptions with 23 in 2007. Moss's 124 career receiving touchdowns rank fourth in NFL history, while his 12,193 receiving yards rank 14th and his 774 receptions rank 20th. Moss has recorded eight seasons with 1,000 or more receiving yards and has caught 10 or more touchdown passes in seven seasons. Over his 10-year career, Moss has averaged one touchdown for every 6.24 receptions, a total that is the best in NFL history among any receiver with at least 500 receptions. His 55 career 100-yard receiving games rank third in league history, while his average of 79.2 receiving yards per game also places third in league annals.
The Patriots acquired Moss from the Oakland Raiders in exchange for a fourth-round selection in the 2007 NFL Draft (110th overall) on April 29, 2007. New England acquired the 110th overall selection from the San Francisco 49ers on April 28, 2007 along with the 49ers' 2008 first-round selection in exchange for a 2007 first-round selection (28th overall - T Joe Staley).
In 2007, Moss caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and 23 touchdowns. His 23 touchdown receptions set an all-time single-season NFL record, surpassing Jerry Rice's old mark of 22, set in 1987. Moss's 1,493 receiving yards set a Patriots single-season franchise record, while his 23 total touchdowns also set a team mark, topping Curtis Martin's 17 touchdowns in 1996. He caught four touchdown passes in a game against Buffalo on Nov. 18, 2007, setting a Patriots single-game record. Among the honors and awards Moss received in 2007 were selections to the Pro Bowl, the Associated Press All-Pro First Team, the Pro Football Weekly/PFWA All-NFL Team and the All-Pro teams of the Sporting News, USA Today, ESPN and Sports Illustrated. He was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for November 2007 and was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice during the 2007 season.
Moss was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round (21st overall) of the 1998 NFL Draft. He was traded to the Raiders on March 2, 2005 in exchange for linebacker Napoleon Harris, a first-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft (7th overall) and a seventh-round pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.
The West Virginia native was named to the Associated Press All-Pro Team following the 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2007 seasons and has earned six career Pro Bowl selections (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2007).
Sam Aiken, 27, has played in 64 career games with two starts over five NFL seasons, all with the Buffalo Bills (2003-07). The 6-foot-2-inch, 215-pound wide receiver was selected by the Bills in the fourth round (127th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft out of the University of North Carolina. Aiken has recorded 19 career receptions for 250 yards and has totaled 61 career special teams tackles.
As a rookie in 2003, Aiken appeared in five games for the Bills and had three catches for 35 yards while totaling four special teams stops. In 2004, Aiken played in every game while totaling a career-high 11 receptions for 148 yards and adding 14 special teams tackles. He played in every game again in 2005 and made the only two starts of his career that season while catching four passes for 57 yards. His 24 special teams tackles in 2005 ranked second on the team and stand as a single-season career high. Aiken played in 15 games in 2006 and notched 13 special teams tackles. Last season, Aiken played in 12 games for Buffalo and caught a pass for 10 yards while tallying six special teams tackles.
