Let the whirlwind begin. We’ve just learned through Pro Football Talk that Bill Simmons put up a Tweet not long ago that indicated there are rumors swirling about a potential Randy Moss trade between the Patriots and Vikings. The Tweet came down shortly after it went up, and Simmons posted another Tweet saying that the original Tweet was supposed to be a direct message to someone but the rumors are circulating. Follow all that?
The speculation makes perfect sense and really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The fact that it was supposed to be a direct message makes matters that much more interesting, but does not necessarily mean there’s any truth to the claim. Direct messages of this sort go back and forth between sports writers and analysts all the time and nothing ever comes of them. It’s the way the business works in the digital media era.
However, there’s no arguing that the timing of the rumor is curious. Here are several reasons the trade would actually make some sense:
1. Moss is in a contract year and already turned heads with his comments about his contract situation after the first game of the year. He’s acting like he’s perfectly content now, but we can tell he isn’t.
2. The Patriots got their biggest victory of the season Monday night in Miami when they clobbered the Dolphins with an all-around team effort. New England won despite Moss not catching a single pass in the game. After the game, he was the only player on the sidelines who didn’t seem ecstatic.
3. The Vikings were one of the few teams said to be interested in Vincent Jackson when the Chargers were entertaining trade offers for their holdout wide receiver. Minnesota is clearly in the hunt for a play-maker at receiver with the Brett Favre window seeming shorter by the day.
4. Brett Favre thought the Packers were going to get Moss in 2007 and 2008 and was supposedly extremely upset that they didn’t land him.
5. The Patriots are entering their bye week, meaning they have more time to work any player they might acquire in the deal into their system (assuming it’s not just draft picks).
It’s also perfectly possible that Simmons is sitting at home laughing his ass off right now at the buzz this is already creating. It could end up being a lot of speculation over nothing at all. However, it wouldn’t even be worth talking about if some of the factors involved didn’t exist. We’ll keep you posted.
UPDATE: Looks like the speculation is warranted. As I was making the original post this thing started spreading like wildfire. I’ve actually never seen a rumor come together so quickly, as it’s gone from the initial stages of chatter to Jay Glazer of FOX Sports reporting the Vikings and Patriots are close to a deal. It’s contingent on the Vikings reaching s contract extension with Moss.
