RANDY MOSS DOMINATED when he wanted to dominate.
He scored when he wanted to score, cooperated when he wanted to cooperate and acted out when he wanted to act out.
Moss spent 13 seasons doing things on his own terms, which is why perhaps the loudest career the NFL has ever seen — both in terms of the roars he induced on the field and the aggravation he caused off it — ended so quietly on Monday.
No farewell speech from maybe the most physically gifted receiver to don a helmet. No tearful goodbye from a record-setting performer who changed the way defense is played in the NFL. Just a one-sentence statement from his agent saying one of the most colorful careers in league history was over.
“Randy has weighed his options and considered the offers and has decided to retire,” Joel Segal said on Monday.
It was vintage Moss, a revolutionary talent who was never very much interested in doing things the conventional way.
If this indeed is the end for Moss, he leaves the game with some of the gaudiest statistics posted by a receiver. His 153 touchdowns are tied with Terrell Owens for second on the career list, and he’s also fifth in yards (14,858) and tied with Hines Ward for eighth in receptions (954).
“In a lot of ways, he was the Michael Jordan of offenses in our league,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. “He was a special player for a long, long time.”
The leaping, sprawling, Randy Moss catches we’ll never forget
1. Moss leaps over defenders on this 90-yard touchdown catch in college at Marshall.
2. Moss’ first touchdown in the NFL came in 1998 against Tampa Bay with this juggling catch.
3. Moss manages to stay in bounds, double-covered for the TD on Thanksgiving in 2000.
4. Moss makes a great grab and then throws the lateral for a Moe Williams touchdown in 2003.
5. Moss lays out and keeps both feet in bounds for this touchdown.
6. Moss makes a behind-the-head catch and then infamously “moons” the crowd at Lambeau Field.
7. Moss goes deep for the Pats against the Jets in his first game for the Pats.
8. Moss makes a near impossible grab against the Jets.
9. Moss effortlessly makes a one-handed grab against the Jets.
10. Moss catches Favre’s 500th touchdown pass in a bizarre hook up.
– Report via AP; videos reproduced with permission from Business Insider
