Maine news, sports, weather from Waterville Morning Sentinel

NFL: Randy Moss wants to return to NFL

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Randy Moss once said, “I play when I want to play.”

click image to enlarge

DOOR OPEN: Former New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, right, annonced Monday on a webchat that he plans to return to the NFL. Moss retired six months ago.

AP

Select images available for purchase in the
Maine Today Photo Store

Six months after retiring, the veteran NFL wide receiver wants to play again.

Moss announced on a webchat Monday — his 35th birthday — that he’s planning a comeback.

His agent, Joel Segal, wouldn’t go into his client’s available options.

“Randy and I have discussed it,” Segal said of Moss coming out of retirement. “He still has his fire and he’s looking forward to playing football. He’s excited.”

Moss posted on his Twitter page: “Now back to biz!! There’s good an bad an u have to b ready for both! its in gods hand now.”

Moss retired last August, compiling 14,858 receiving yards and 153 touchdowns in 13 seasons.

He last played in 2010, getting traded by the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings before finishing the season with Tennessee. That year he had career lows of 28 catches for 393 yards.

Moss’ 23 TD catches in 2007 that helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl are a single-season NFL record.

His 10 seasons of at least 1,000 yards are second only to Jerry Rice’s 14. He’s tied with Terrell Owens for second on the career TD receptions list, well behind Rice’s 197.

There were questions when Moss retired whether it would last.

Then came Monday’s announcement.

“It didn’t surprise me when he retired, and it doesn’t surprise me he wants to come back,” said Bob Pruett, Moss’ college coach at Marshall. “I think he can be a great player for whoever picks him up.”

It’s now up to NFL teams to decide whether they want to take a chance on the six-time Pro Bowler.

Former Patriots teammate Tom Brady has said he’d like to throw to Moss again.

A prospective employer would not only get one of the top deep threats in NFL history, but one with a history of controversy.

While with the Vikings, Moss bumped a traffic cop in downtown Minneapolis, squirted a referee with a water bottle during a game, left the field early in a game against Washington and berated a caterer at team headquarters.

Trouble off the field in high school prevented Moss from attending Notre Dame or Florida State. He landed with father-figure Pruett at Marshall, where he scored 54 touchdowns in two seasons.

“Randy’s a team guy,” Pruett said. “Sometimes he wears his emotions on his sleeve. He’s also a great player.”

Moss’ personal assistant, Donnie Jones, said Moss is “ready to rock ‘n’ roll.”