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.
