The New England Patriots have agreed to trade seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Randy Moss Wednesday, giving Moss the exit he expected all along and sending him back to the place where he became a superstar — Minnesota.

“He is a tremendous competitor and was an integral member of the Vikings organization,” Vikings coach Brad Childress said in a statement. “Once again, ownership was completely supportive of our efforts to add a valuable football player to our team. I know the entire organization is thrilled to welcome him back to the Twin Cities.”

The Vikings will send a third-round 2011 draft pick to the Patriots in return for Moss and New England’s seventh-round draft pick in 2012, a league source reported.

A source close to Moss told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen that Belichick informed Moss of the trade Wednesday morning by telephone. The source said the conversation was cordial, with both men expressing appreciation for the time they spent together. Moss will report to the Vikings on Wednesday and is said to be “excited” about returning to his original team with Wrangler wearin’ Brett Favre at quarterback, the source said.

As a result of the trade, the Patriots now have two picks in each of the first four rounds of the 2011 draft — their own picks and a first-round pick from Oakland (Richard Seymour trade) a second-round pick from Carolina (giving the Panthers the opportunity to select Armanti Edwards in the 4th Round this past April), the third-round pick from Minnesota and a fourth-rounder from Denver (Larry Maroney).

Fantasy Impact: Huzzah! Everybody wins! First and foremost, the Vikings get the best upgrade in the deal. Going from Bernard Berrian to Randy Moss is like trading in your Saturn coupe for a Maybach.  It’ll take a few weeks to get the plays and timing down between he and Favre, but when it happens, watch out. Randy Moss’ fantasy value takes a slight hit because of the newness, but the opportunity is still there. For a guy taken 2nd or 3rd among WRs, this is still a great chance to see a lot of balls and a lot of single coverage.

On the Patriots’ side of camp, I’m mixed. Slight uptick for Welker and Brady? Downtick? A clear uptick for Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski in terms of targets? Does this mean Brady’s value drops? I’m not sure. I still think they’re all startable (except Gronk and Tate at this point) and can be counted on week-to-week. Might they be gearing up for a Steve Smith trade or a Vincent Jackson trade? It makes entirely too much sense. They have 2 picks in each of the first four rounds! How can you not give up a second or third for one of those guys? They’re proven commodities that immediately help this team win now. We’ll keep our eyes peeled. Overall, big winner(s): Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Brandon Tate, Aaron Hernandez, Zygi Wilf. Big Losers: Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice, Folks who wanted to see New England challenge for a Super Bowl.

The Buffalo Bills have finally dealt backup/starting/backup running back Marshawn Lynch to the Seattle Seahawks, according to Lynch’s agent, Doug Hendrickson. Hendrickson released the news to the Associated Press this afternoon. Buffalo will receive a 2011 fourth-round pick and a 2012 conditional pick, a Seahawks team source told reporters. To make room for Lynch on the roster, the Seahawks will release plodding, forgotten running back Julius Jones, a league source told Schefter. Lynch, drafted in the first round of the 2007 draft by the Bills, has been the subject of trade rumors since the season began. The favorite to land the troubled back was Green Bay, but because GM Ted Thompson doesn’t part with draft picks, the deal hit snags.

Fantasy Impact: He has 164 yards on 37 attempts for the Bills, who have stumbled to an 0-4 record this season. Fred Jackson and rookie C.J. Spiller will likely will share carries now that Lynch has been traded, opening up what was a glut at RB for the hapless Bills.

Justin Forsett  is the Seahawks’ leading rusher with 215 yards on 51 attempts. But Seattle has gotten little else out of its rushing attack as both Jones and Leon Washington  have managed 30 yards on 12 attempts each.

Once Lynch gets up to speed after Seattle’s Week 5 bye, he instantly becomes flex-worthy if you need the help. I’d rather let him sit and marinate on the bench for a few weeks to see how the offense takes shape around him, but I can’t imagine he’ll be getting less than 13 carries a game right from the get-go. As for Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller — great news for their owners.  I think Fast Freddy becomes the lead back, with Spiller getting about 8-10 touches per game.  At least now we know who to play in Buffalo.  Both players immediately become flex options this week against Jacksonville.

Sad sack franchise, the Detroit Lions, have announced that back-up Shaun Hill will once again start in place of the injured Matthew Stafford when the team travels to Green Bay for an intra-divisional slugfest at Lambeau this Sunday.

Coach Jim Schwartz said Stafford won’t be healthy enough to play Sunday and Hill will make his second-straight start.

Stafford was knocked out of the season opener by Chicago’s Julius Peppers, putting him on the sideline with a banged-up right shoulder — his third injury in two seasons. Stafford missed six games last year after being the No. 1 pick in the draft because of a banged-up left shoulder and right knee.

Detroit is 0-3 this season and 3-40 since midway through 2007, giving the Lions the worst 43-game mark in NFL history, according to STATS LLC. Stafford told WJR-AM on Monday that he would likely test his injured right shoulder with some throwing this week. He didn’t throw any passes Wednesday during the part of practice open to the media.

Fantasy Impact: Unless you’re in a 15-teamer, or a league with 10 bench spots, you’ve cut Matt Stafford already so that’s not news.  However, with the coaching staff saving him for a week, letting him rest up, he should be back and rollin’ for a Week 5 matchup against the St. Louis Rams. That’s a very nice matchup for Stafford to come back to, so keep that in your sights if you have a QB with a Week 5 bye like Tom Brady, or you’re still waiting for Ben Roethlisberger to return for Week 6.  That’s if he even gets his starting gig back from Charlie Batch, who looked like John Elway this past weekend.

The guy's got a good arm, and apparently sound decision-making ability when it comes to chasing tail.

And so begin the bye week blues. From weeks 4-10, that’s when champions are made and losers are roasted. Bench depth is a crucial part of this game, a skill you’ll quickly learn as you play. I remember the first year I played, I actually drafted my team in order from top to bottom (QB, WR, WR, WR, RB, RB, etc.) before getting to my bench. Interestingly, I actually won the league, but it was a strategy I quickly realized was flawed. The name of the game is value. Period. You see a guy in the third that you thought could be taken 13th or 14th — regardless of his position, you take him.

This is a short list of some of the hottest names on most waiver wires across Yahoo, ESPN, FOX and CBS leagues. Some won’t be there in your league, others may be in abundance. For this purpose, I’ll focus on this from a 12-team league perspective with standard scoring (4 pts. throwing TD; 6 pts. run/catch; etc.).

Must-Adds: Serious contenders here. These guys WILL make your team better.

Kyle Orton - The Denver QB has finally arrived and in a big way, throwing for 476 yards in a loss against the Colts at home. The guy has a terrible beard, gets no respect, and has the second most passing yards through three weeks (Phillip Rivers). Why is he not added? Because people associate him with Rex Grossman, losing the Chicago job to him, and they write off Denver as a “bad team.” Look, they have holes, and the injury bug bit them harddd this summer. But they throw. A ton. And Orton has the brains and accuracy to do it well. I fully expect Orton to be a Top-12 QB from here on out. He’s playing great football and he has some nice weapons.

Peyton Hillis - 188 total yards. 1 TD. Against the Baltimore Ravens. Yep, they got this guy for Brady Quinn and a bucket of balls. Now, the only thing I can see really holding Hillis back is Eric Mangini. Eric Mangini is the most confused, sad little man out there. He says one thing, means another. He’ll tell the media this week that Hillis is the guy they’re going with, and then he’ll give Jerome Harrison 15 touches in the next game. He probably wakes up in the morning and says “I’ll just have some coffee and a bagel” and five minutes later, he’s making an omelette. The guy has no idea what he’d doing. Worst case scenario, Hillis becomes the third-down, short yardage, and goal line back. Best case, they utilize him fully and relegate Harrison to a change of pace scat back to wear defenses down. Regardless, if he’s out there on the wire, add him. Actually, if he’s out there, you’re playing in a league with morons and I want you to invite me to play next year. I’d rather Orton over him, unless of course you have one of the clear Top 7 QBs. Then, this should be a RB bonanza.

Dustin Keller – A 89-yard, 2 TD performance in Sunday night’s big win at Miami puts the Jet squarely in the Top-12 TEs now. I like him ahead of names like Greg Olsen, John Carlson, Kellen Winslow and Owen Daniels. I like him because of a mixture of ability, opportunity and health factors. If you’re outside of the Top 5 TEs (Gates, Clark, Gonzo, Davis, Finley…in some order) feel free to stash him for your TE’s bye, use him for trade bait (say, Shiancoe’s owner?) or use him and drop your current scrub.

Also consider adding any of these guys if there is need for you: Louis Murphy, Lance Moore, Santonio Holmes (he’ll be back in two weeks), Mario Manningham, Mike Tolbert, Jason Snelling, Chris Ivory (maybe? I’m still unsure), Ryan Torain, Aaron Hernandez

Think Long and Hard: Some players worth a look in deeper leagues or because of circumstance.

He fast.

Devin Hester – Hester returned (ha ha) in a big way on Monday night with a big punt return TD to keep Chicago undefeated. With Devin Aromashadu firmly camped out in the dog house, for reasons currently unknown, Hester has a chance to sneak in to some formations given his speed and big-play ability. Add him if you can stash him on the bench because he’s still behind Johnny Knox and Earl Bennett on the depth chart.

Kenneth Darby - With Steven Jackson coming down with Turner-itis (yes, I’m still bitter) and pulling his groin, Darby becomes the feature back for this week’s matchup against Seattle. He looked pretty good in relief of Jackson, rushing 15 times for 57 and a score. If you own SJax, you do this. If you play Jackson’s owner and there are no better options, swoop in and block the pick-up if your priority is higher. Strategery, folks. Strategery.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis - Fred Taylor is 61 and hurt his toe. This guy plays on the best offense in football. If they feed him the ball, he should do some things. He had 98 yards on 16 carries in Week 3 against Buffalo. Sure, I could probably rush for about 60 against that defense, but it shows that when given the opportunity, this guy will actually perform. Ask Brandon Jackson owners about that…

Some other possibilities to mull over tonight at dinner with your husband or wife: Laurence Maroney (I know, I feel just as weird writing it as you do reading it), Mark Sanchez, Chad Henne, Jordan Shipley, Brandon Lloyd, Tony Moeaki, Maurice Morris (only because of the RB situation in Detroit. They’re all on gurneys), Dexter McCluster (a reach right now, but maybe Haley realized the little guy has unbelievable talent).

Let’er Rip!: Time to cut the chord on these wangs. See ya in hell, jerks.

Bernard Berrian, Jerricho Cotchery, Toby Gerhart, Patrick Crayton, Mohammad Massaquoi, Heath Miller, Dallas DEF, Fred Jackson, Brandon Jacobs, Derek Anderson, Laurent Robinson, Deon Grant, Julius Edelman, Robert Meachem, Steve Slaton, Darius Heyward-Bey, Vincent Jackson, Carson Palmer, Trent Edwards, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, James Jones, Kevin Kolb, Marcedes Lewis, Pats DEF

Good luck in Week 4, and stay tuned for new injury news and pick-up tips!

Denver’s starting running back Knowshon Moreno will be scratched from their Week 3 game against the Indianapolis Colts thanks in part to a nagging leg injury. Moreno, who is proving to be a very brittle professional, has been dogged by leg injuries often in his brief career.

Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said Friday that Moreno will be out after sustaining “a little something” in practice that “he won’t be able to play through.” McDaniels didn’t elaborate but the official injury report said Moreno had injured a hamstring. Moreno has scored a touchdown in each of the 1-1 Broncos’ games this season, totaling 111 yards rushing on 39 carries.

Fantasy Impact: The Broncos’ depth at running back includes former Eagle Correll Buckhalter (17 carries, 34 yards in two games) and recently acquired Laurence Maroney.  The safe money for this week is on Buckhalter, a tough, hard-nosed runner who knows this offense well. If you’re a Moreno owner in a bind, grab Buckhalter if he’s on the waiver wire. He should be good for about 16 rushes, 60-90 yards; 4 catches for 30-40 and one TD.

Maroney, who has been nursing a thigh injury, participated in a full practice Thursday.

“You’ve just got to keep on moving on,” quarterback Kyle Orton said about the latest injury news. “There’s nothing you can do or say about it. We’ve been dealing with this stuff all year. And whoever’s in the huddle, we expect them to perform.”

This is just the most recent injury for Moreno. The starting tailback pulled his right hamstring the opening day of training camp and didn’t return until Aug. 31, saving his on-field debut until the regular season. He has gained just 111 yards on 39 carries for a 2.8-yard average this season.

The San Diego Chargers  have apparently rejected several trade offers for disgruntled and M.I.A. wide receiver Vincent Jackson, letting the Wednesday deadline to trade him pass without making a deal.

The NFL and the NFL Players Association had agreed to a 4 p.m. ET deadline for San Diego to trade Jackson, which would have allowed him to be active by the fifth week of the regular season. Jackson is under a three-game suspension for past DUI offenses. When he did not sign his restricted free-agent tender, the Chargers placed Jackson on an exempt list, which prohibited him from playing for three more weeks.

By letting Wednesday’s deadline pass, the Chargers will keep Jackson on the exempt list for the first six weeks of the season. San Diego still can trade him by the Oct. 19 trade deadline. “We had multiple offers, and the Chargers squashed them all,” said Jonathan Feinsod, one of Jackson’s agents.

The Minnesota Vikings Favres were willing to give up a second-round draft choice and an additional conditional pick to the Chargers, a source said. Another source said Jackson had even worked out a financial package with the team. Chargers general manager A.J. Smith said he would trade Jackson only if he received the right value and he would make a trade only with a team of his choosing.

Fantasy Impact: Interestingly, this moves seems to affect the Vikings the most in my opinion.  The Chargers, despite a tough opening week loss at Kansas City during a monsoon, seem to have enough weapons offensively between Antonio Gates, Malcom Floyd, the possible emergence of Legedue Me Dirty Naanee and of course the running attack behind Rivers of rookie Mathews, bowling ball/bulldozer hybrid, Mike Tolbert; and Darren Sproles. The Vikings, however, look like they might continue to fall toward obscurity without the necessary receivers for Favre to thrive. Sidney Rice pulled a Shaquille O’Neal and decided to heal his hip injury on company time. Percy Harvin can’t stay on the field with hip and migraine issues. The team resorted to signing Hank Basket to a 1-year contract today in light of this situation! It’s not looking good for anyone here. Not the Vikings, not the Chargers, and perhaps most of all for Vincent Jackson.

Boy oh boy, and here I thought Andy Reid — who is as big as a van — wouldn’t be able to back pedal this quickly. But that’s just what he did in choosing Michael Vick over Kevin Kolb despite his clean bill of health. Reid, the mastermind behind the trade that sent Donovan McNabb — the greatest Eagles quarterback in history — down the turnpike to D.C., installed his man this summer with the promise of a learning curve, slow growth, and an eventual dynasty built around young studs Kolb, LeSean McCoy, DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek and Jeremy Maclin. Instead, he’s opting for the quick fix to win games now.  And I can’t say I blame him.

Furthermore, teams across the country in need of help at QB (Arizona, Buffalo, Cleveland, Seattle, Oakland all come to mind) apparently began calling earlier today to see if Kolb could be had. When asked Wednesday whether Kolb would be on the Eagles’ roster after the Oct. 19 trade deadline, Eagles coach Andy Reid said, “Listen, I can’t predict anything down that far; nobody in this league can do that.” Nice vote of confidence, huh?

Kolb has missed the past six quarters because of a concussion, and Michael Vick (his temporary replacement, and insurance policy) played well in his absence. Kolb was cleared to practice and was expected to run the first-team offense Wednesday. However, Tuesday night, Vick was named the Eagles’ starting quarterback, with Reid saying, “When someone is playing at the level Michael Vick is playing, you have to give him an opportunity.”

Vick threw for 175 yards and one touchdown and ran for 103 yards, and this past Sunday he passed for 284 yards and two touchdowns in the Eagles’ victory over the very unlucky, very tenacious Detroit Lions.

Fantasy Impact: Dump Kolb, now. He’s not worth a dime. And like I said, there’s no real foul here in the real world. Teams are built to win and win now. If you’re not challenging for a division crown, for a playoff spot, then you’re either the worst organization in sports, or the Cleveland Browns. If Andy Reid thinks his team has more of a chance to challenge in the W-I-D-E   O-P-E-N NFC East with Michael Vick’s athleticism and leadership, I say go for it. Does it screw those of us who drafted Kolb in the 4th-6th round this past August? Well, yeah, completely.  But like the Eagles will do, we all have to adapt.  Kolb will have to wait for his opportunity now, but he’ll be paid almost $13 million to do so. I’d be fine with that if I were him. If you did grab him, I’d recommend trying to sign or trade for Kyle Orton, or slog it out for three weeks while you wait for Ben Roethlisberger to join his shockingly 2-0 Steelers.  Even if you have to overpay for him by giving up a Flex/RB2 or RB3, so be it. He’ll come back, and they’ll throw, and life will be good again.

On Tuesday, the secret Patriots shipped fourth-team running back (and former first-round selection) to the Gentlemen Broncos for a draft pick swap in 2011.

New England will receive Denver’s fourth-round pick in 2011, while the Broncos will get a 2011 sixth-round pick from the Patriots in addition to Maroney. The Patriots said only that the deal involved undisclosed draft considerations.

Maroney, who was limited by a thigh injury of late, was inactive for the team’s season-opening win. Yet even upon his return to health, he might have remained inactive. He was expected to be in the mix for the starting role heading into the season, but had fallen down the Patriots’ running back depth chart in training camp and the preseason.

He was coming off a solid season in 2009, when he rushed for 757 yards and posted career highs in carries (194) and touchdowns (9).

In four seasons with the Patriots, Maroney had 582 carries for 2,430 yards and 21 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 40 passes for 409 yards and a touchdown.

Fantasy Impact: Maroney has been dogged his whole career with the “fragile” tag — someone who cannot stay on the field because, at the slightest twinge of pain, he’s in the trainer’s room. Now, he joins a Broncos backfield of Moreno, Buckhalter and the injured and reserved LenDale White. I don’t see Maroney making any sort of immediate impact, and since he’s in the last year of his contract, this may only be an insurance policy for the apparently equally fragile Moreno.  Bottom line, don’t waste a roster spot on him.

Green Bay’s star running back Ryan Grant is out for the season with a right ankle injury, a significant blow to the team after he piled up 1,200 yards in each of the past two seasons. Grant, who was injured in Sunday’s win over the Eagles after piling up just 45 yards, will require surgery to correct a torn ligament in his ankle that will leave him on crutches for 10 to 12 weeks, according to sources. Grant will likely fly to New York this week for a second opinion before electing to have the surgery, or rehab with team doctors.

Fantasy Impact: Without Grant, one of the most high-powered offenses in the NFL is without a true stud rusher. Brandon Jackson, a running back who was drafted initially to take the throne left behind by Ahman Green three years ago.  Obviously, if you’re at the top of your league’s waiver order, you’re grabbing Jackson. Without question.  But make sure you’re not dropping someone who could prove to be valuable down the line even though Week 1 didn’t go his way. I’m thinking of Fred Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Jerome Harrison, and Joseph Addai to name just a few disappointing-but-definitely-not-cut-able studs.