Ghosts of Seasons Past: 5 players who have haunted the Oakland Raiders
3. Randy Moss
Randy Moss is easily one of the best wide receivers to ever play the game. His years in Minnesota made him one of the most feared and hardest to cover in the league. So when his time with the Vikings ran its course, Oakland decided to swoop in and landed him by trading linebacker Napoleon Harris, a 1st round and 7th round draft pick.
His first year with the Raiders was sort of a mixed bag. He struggled with some injuries that hindered husband expected production, but he still finished the season with 1,000 yards and 8 touchdowns on 60 catches.
Year 2 is when it all went down hill. The Raiders struggled as a team and Moss had no problem voicing his frustrations with what was going on. After being asked about his recent drops, Moss was on the record saying:
“Maybe because I’m unhappy and I’m not too much excited about what’s going on, so, my concentration and focus level tend to go down sometimes when I’m in a bad mood”
Later on he doubled down, taking it even farther by stating:
“I might want to look forward to moving somewhere else next year to have another start and really feel good about going out here and playing football”
After finishing 2006 with only 553 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on 42 catches, Moss basically complained his way out of Oakland. The Raiders traded him to the New England Patriots for a 4th round pick, where he went on to have 3 straight years of 1,000+ yards and 10+ touchdowns.