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When Randy Moss first came to Minnesota 12
years ago, he electrified a stagnant franchise and immediately
turned it into a Super Bowl contender.


      Now the Vikings need him to do it again.


      The New England Patriots traded the seven-time Pro Bowl receiver
Wednesday, sending him back to the place where he became an NFL
superstar, in exchange for a 2011 draft pick.


      "He can still go downtown and get the football, which is a
stand-alone factor," Vikings coach Brad Childress said. "He could
sprain his toe here sometime coming up, and you could say that he's
33, it's old age. But there's always risk reward. I don't
necessarily see this as boom or bust. I think he's got some more
football in him."


      The Vikings play at New York on Monday night, and Childress said
without hesitation that Moss would be in uniform against the Jets -
his old purple No. 84.


      "Man, we wish this would have happened a week later," Jets
running back LaDainian Tomlinson said.
      

The drama is sure to be high around here all month. Check out
Minnesota's last two games in October: at rival Green Bay, and then
at New England.
      

"In this business, there are complex and often difficult
decisions, but it is my responsibility to make them based on what I
feel is best for our football team, in both the short term and long
term," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "I am grateful for the
opportunity to have coached Randy Moss and aside from facing him as
an opponent, I wish him the very best for the remainder of his Hall
of Fame career."

      Moss was a first-round pick of the Vikings in 1998 and spent his
first seven seasons in Minnesota, where he set all kinds of records
and became one of the most exciting playmakers in the league -- also
giving the Vikings more than a few headaches over those years with
attitude problems and some off-the-field trouble.
      

Moss will move from catching passes from Tom Brady to Brett
Favre, who desperately needed a downfield threat after Pro Bowl
receiver Sidney Rice had hip surgery in August. Struggling Bernard
Berrian has been a nonfactor, and Percy Harvin -- when healthy -- is
better suited for the slot position.
     

 "This is an exciting move; I think everybody feels that in the
locker room," Favre said on the team's website. "It's rare you
get to play with a future Hall of Famer and get to appreciate their
talents up close. Randy Moss is a great player and his career
speaks for itself. I've admired him from a distance for a long
time, and you can't help but be impressed by the guy."


      Tired of his behavior and wary of a hamstring injury that
hampered him in the 2004 season, the Vikings traded Moss to Oakland
in 2005. He wore out his welcome there, too, and the Raiders sent
him to New England in 2007. Favre, then with the Packers, was
frustrated at the time that his team didn't land Moss after talking
with Oakland about a trade.
     

 Childress, though, denied on Wednesday that Favre lobbied for
the move. The coach said owner Zygi Wilf gave his blessing on
Monday.


      "I don't think any of us thought this guy was going to be
available," Childress said.
     


 The Vikings in exchange will give the Patriots their third-round
draft pick in 2011 and get a seventh-rounder from New England in
2012, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations,
speaking on condition of anonymity because the teams did not
disclose terms of the deal.


      Childress insisted the acquisition of Moss isn't a sign that
Rice's recovery has slowed. Rice said recently he hopes to be off
his crutches next week.


      The Vikings began the year with championship aspirations after
reaching the NFC title game in January. But they have lost two of
their first three and Favre's passing game has struggled to get off
the ground. The Vikings talked last month about acquiring another
disgruntled, talented wide receiver in Vincent Jackson, but the San
Diego Chargers chose to keep him.


      The Vikings didn't practice on Wednesday. Moss is expected to
join the team on Thursday and talk with reporters afterward.


      "We've just been missing something, and I think he can give us
another threat down the field," running back Adrian Peterson said
on the team's website.


      Moss is in the final season of a three-year, $27 million
contract and has said several times that he expected 2010 to be his
last season with the Patriots. He did not have a catch in a 41-14
win over Miami on Monday night.


      Last month, Moss lamented his lack of a contract extension and
said he felt unwanted. He backtracked a bit days later, saying he
didn't want Patriots fans, players, coaches or officials to have
"a sour taste in their mouths" about him.


      His agent, Joel Segal, said the Vikings have not contacted him
about a long-term deal, so Moss joins a long list of prominent
Vikings in the final year of their contracts including Rice and
Favre.


      Moss caught 574 passes for 9,142 yards and 90 touchdowns in his
first stint with Minnesota, bursting onto the scene in 1998 by
catching deep throws from Randall Cunningham and helping a
record-breaking offense reach the NFC title game.
    

  The entertaining style of football that he brought with him
started a string of sellouts at the Metrodome that is still going
13 years later. His jersey can still be seen regularly on the backs
of fans, six years after he was traded Oakland.
     

 But his time in Minnesota wasn't always smooth.


      There was the time he bumped a traffic cop with his car in
downtown Minneapolis, left the field early from a game in
Washington and several other occasions where he was fined for
antics on the field, prompting the Vikings to trade him to the
Raiders in 2005.


      Childress said he has a clean slate in Minnesota.


      "I'm just satisfied to judge him, not backward, but judge him
going forward and what he does with us here," he said.


      AP Sports Writers Dave Campbell in Eden Prairie, Minn., and Joe
Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this report.
      

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Minnesota Vikings

Jon Krawczynski, Associated Press

Author

When receiver Randy Moss first came to Minnesota 12 years ago, he electrified a stagnant franchise and immediately turned it into a Super Bowl contender. Now he's returning to the Vikings, who need him to do it again.

Randy Moss could be returing to the Minnesota Vikings.  A league source says the New England Patriots and Vikings are discussing a trade that would bring the star receiver back to Minnesota where his NFL career began.   The seven-time Pro Bowler is in the last season of his contract with the Patriots.  Moss has made no secret about his desire for a new deal and his belief that he would have to leave the Patriots to get one.

Childress: Moss has 'more football in him'

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