Ache #16: Randy Moss traded to Oakland

Randy Moss is, hands down, the most physically gifted man to play wide receiver in the NFL. The 6'4'' 210 lb receiver from Rand, West Virginia had over 9,100 yards and scored 90 touchdowns...in his first seven seasons in the NFL.

He had fallen into the Vikings lap with the 24th overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft due to character concerns and, on the field, he was well worth it (most of the time).

The Vikings were 36-12 during Moss' first three years with the team, including two NFC Championship Game appearances in 1998 and 200, but a 5-11 drop off in 2001 led to the firing of head coach Denny Green as the reigns of the franchise were handed over to Mike Tice.

The Tice era was underwhelming: four consecutive runner-up finishes in the NFC North and 32-32 record. The Vikings did back into the playoffs with an 8-8 record in 2004 with Randy Moss providing an all-time Randy moment in the win over Green Bay:

Moss had four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns

in a 31-17 win at Green Bay in the 2004 Wild Card round

2004 was a rare off year for Moss. He missed three games with a hamstring injury, and despite 13 receiving touchdowns in 13 games, he failed to reach the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career.

Some of Moss' antics and off-field issues were creating problems too. In addition to his "disguising act" in Green Bay. In September 2002, Moss was driving in downtown Minneapolis and bumped a traffic control officer trying to prevent him from making an illegal turn. A search of his vehicle revealed a gram of marijuana. 

The reason that 20 NFL teams passed on Moss was beginning to show, and in March 2004, the Vikings officially moved on from Randy Moss by trading him to the Oakland Raiders for linebacker Napoleon Harris and Oakland's first round pick in the upcoming draft.

Napoleon Harris with the Vikings in 2006

Mike Tice had his defensive piece with Harris, and with the seventh overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft the Vikings selected WR Troy Williamson out of South Carolina to replace Moss in the lineup.

Troy Williamson's pre-draft measurables were great...a 4.3 40, 37" vert and a 21 Wonderlic

Harris, a first-round pick by Oakland in 2002, was brought in to help shore up a defense that gave up over 24 points per game in 2004 (26th in the league). Harris played in 15 games (starting three) in 2005 and finished with 18 tackles as he was hampered with injuries. 2005 was better with three interceptions,2.5 sacks and 96 tackles in 14 games. Harris signed a six-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs after that season. After being released one year into his contract, he re-signed with the Vikings after an injury to EJ Henderson. He finished that season with 32 tackles and one sack in 10 games.

With the seventh overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected WR Troy Williamson out of South Carolina to replace Moss.

Troy Williamson couldn't catch a cold...

Williamson had all the tools to be the deep threat to replace Randy Moss: the size, the speed, the smarts. The one thing he couldn't do was catch the damn ball. He blamed bad depth perception for his poor hand-eye coordination that resulted in 11 drops in 2006, none worse than the one Week 17 against the Denver Broncos.

The Vikings started 3-6, but after five straight wins were sitting at 8-7 and on the verge of an unthinkable playoff spot. A win over Denver, who had a playoff spot in the AFC locked up, would put them in the playoffs for the first time in three years.

Then, Troy Williamson happened. 

First, with the Vikings down 7-3, Williamson dropped what would have been a guaranteed 73 yard touchdown from Tarvaris Jackson:

This is still painful to watch...

The second drop was on a crucial first down later in the game. The game would head to overtime tied at 19-19 before a Tarvaris Jackson fumble at the Vikings' 13 yard line set up a 30 yard Jason Elam field goal to win the game. The Vikings were officially eliminated with Washington's 27-6 win over Dallas as the Redskins grabbed the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC.

Williamson's Vikings career ended with 1,067 yards and three touchdowns in three seasons. He averaged two catches per game. He was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a seventh round pick in 2008.

Moss, meanwhile, was having a career resurgence. After some disgruntled time in Oakland, he was traded to the New England Patriots, where Bill Belichick sorted him out. Moss scored an NFL record 23 touchdowns for the Pats in 2008, helping lead the way to the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history. Meanwhile, the Vikings have only had two 1,000 yard receivers since Moss was traded (Sidney Rice in 2009 and Adam Thielen in 2017).