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    Randy Moss

    Character » appears in 15 games

    Since his debut in 1998, Randy Moss was one of the most prolific, and controversial, wide-receivers in NFL history. He appeared as the cover-athlete for NFL 2K, NFL 2K1, and NFL 2K2.

    Short summary describing this character.

    Randy Moss last edited by ThePickle on 01/14/21 04:16PM View full history

    Early Life, College, and 1998 Draft

    Randy Gene Moss was born in Rand, West Virginia on February 13, 1977. He attended DuPont High School, where he excelled in football, basketball, baseball and track. He was recruited to play football at Notre Dame. Fighting Irish head coach Lou Holtz said that Randy "was the best high school football player [he's] ever seen." Randy's scholarship to Notre Dame was retracted after he was a part of a fight with another student after he apparently said racist remarks to Moss' friend. Moss spent 30 days in jail.

    After he was released from jail, Moss attended Florida State University. In 1996, as a freshman, Moss failed a drug test and was expelled for violating parole. He spent 60 days in jail for parole violation before he was recruited to play for Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Moss was a key part of the University's explosive offense. Marshall spent two years at Marshall before he entered the NFL Draft in 1998.

    In an already competitive draft, which included Peyton Manning and Charles Woodson, Moss was one of the most talked about prospects. At the Marshall pro day, Moss had a 4.25 40 yard dash time and a 47 inch vertical jump. However, Moss' character and past was called into question, and he fell further than expected in the draft. He was picked 21st of the first round by the Minnesota Vikings.

    NFL Career

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    With the addition of Randy Moss, the Minnesota Vikings would create one of the highest scoring offenses in NFL history. Wide receiver Cris Carter, who had experienced his own struggles with drugs early in his professional career, acted as a mentor to Moss. Randy set the record for touchdown catches by a rookie wide receiver with 17. Since then, no rookie has come close to matching his total. Moss caught three TD's on just three receptions in a Thanksgiving game against the Dallas Cowboys, one of the teams who passed on him in the draft due to perceived "character issues." Due to his height, speed, great hands, and leaping ability, Moss was nicknamed "Super Freak" after the Rick James song of the same name. The Vikings finished 15-1 but did not make the Super Bowl after a gut-wrenching loss to the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship game. It would be one of many heartbreaking season finales for Moss.

    Randy Moss remained on the Vikings until the 2004 season. In January 2005, Moss scored a TD against the rival Green Bay Packers and mooned the fans at Lambeau Stadium, a "disgusting act" according to play-by-play commenter Joe Buck, for which he was fined $10,000. Randy was traded to the Oakland Raiders in the offseason, but was not happy with his new team. Before the start of the 2007 season, Moss was traded again, this time to the New England Patriots. Now working with Hall of Fame quarterback Tom Brady, Moss broke the single season TD record set by Jerry Rice, finishing the season with 23 touchdown catches. The high-powered Patriots, who finished the regular season 16-0, were upset by the New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Moss was once again denied a championship ring in heartbreaking fashion.

    In the 2010 season, Moss played for three teams, starting with the Patriots. Moss had requested a trade from New England, feeling "unwanted" after he wasn't offered a contract extension, and wound up back in Minnesota. His reunion tour was short-lived after he publicly criticized his head coach Brad Childress. He was waived by the team and was eventually claimed by the Tennessee Titans. After finishing the season with Tennessee, the team had no plans to re-sign him, and he became a free agent. In the offseason, Moss announced his retirement, but the following year Moss announced he was coming back at age 35. He signed with the San Francisco 49ers. With head coach Jim Harbaugh and new starting QB Colin Kaepernick, who ended up becoming best-known for his kneeling during the pre-game national anthem, Moss returned to the Super Bowl, where he squared up against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens got out to a 28-6 lead, but the Niners stormed back to score 17 unanswered points. The final score was 34-31 with the Ravens narrowly holding onto their lead. It would be Moss' final game.

    Randy Moss is currently second on the list of all-time regular season touchdown catches with 156, behind only Jerry Rice. Moss was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018, his first year of eligibility. Randy Moss is considered of the best wide receivers of all time, and perhaps the best NFL player to never win a Super Bowl.

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