Randy Moss was absolutely elated when he was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the New England Patriots. After excelling in Minnesota, Moss' career was spiraling downward along with the Raiders franchise. Receiving the opportunity to play alongside the great Tom Brady and for Bill Belichick gave Moss a fresh start.
But, initially, the news seemed too good to be true. When Moss was told he'd been shipped to the Pats, he thought one of his friends was pranking him. This led to Randy accidentally cussing out Belichick.
I thought it was a friend or somebody playing with my phone. I actually cussed him out. When he kept saying it was Bill Belichick, I knew he was serious.
Eventually, Moss came to his senses and apologized for his poor first impression. Not that Belichick cared; he knew was getting a generational talent that could (and eventually did) transform New England's offense.
First, Moss had to hurry to Foxborough to make sure the trade went through. Then, it was time to celebrate:
I started being apologetic because I had cussed the man. Then he told me the Raiders were thinking about trading me. I had to be in Foxborough by 10 p.m. Eastern, or the trade would void. So, I just did everything that I could possibly do to get up there by 10 p.m.
After I got off the phone with him, I was excited. I was hyped. I was in a club that night. Defensive tackle Shaun Rogers, who played for the Detroit Lions at the time, was there, so I went up there, high-fiving him, hugging random people. Shaun asked me what was going on and I said to him, “I'm getting ready to be a Patriot.” The first thing that came out of his mouth was, “Man, that's cheatin'.”
Moss was productive throughout his tenure with the Pats, but his first was historic.
The Patriots became the first team to go undefeated since the regular season was extended from 14 to 16 games, and the tandem of Brady and Moss was unstoppable. They broke the NFL's passing and receiving touchdown records for a season, with Brady tossing 50 and Moss catching 23.
Peyton Manning eventually broke Brady's record with 55 passing touchdowns in 2013, but Moss' mark still stands today.
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