NFL

Word is he’s not done. But then who would’ve thought it would have publicly escalated into a feud with Randy Moss and Cris Carter? Upon hearing the news that Moss suddenly isn’t quitting on his NFL career, Carter offered his take this morning on “Mike & Mike in the Morning” on ESPN Radio. Carter, now sitting in a television studio to analyze the NFL for ESPN, weighed in and had strong remarks on Moss’ potential return that obviously infuriated the Pro-Bowl receiver.

“The one thing you have to address with Randy Moss is not a conditioning thing,” Carter said. “It’s not an age thing. It needs to be addressed. I believe it’s the elephant in the room. It’s that thing called quit.”

“And Randy, not like any other superstar I’ve met, he has more quit in him than any of those other players. So I need to addresses that. That’s what [New England Patriots coach Bill] Belichick did when he brought him over from Oakland. He told him he wasn’t going to have it.

“But Randy, when things don’t go well, like no other player I’ve ever been around or associated with, he has a quit mechanism in him that’s huge. That needs to be addressed before he signs with any team.”

I’m with Carter on this. I couldn’t agree more.

He can blame it on anything but himself, such as unsupportive teammates, injuries, stubborn coaches or not enough touches – but we shouldn’t buy into his ignorance and unnecessary pouting, abruptly quitting when things don’t go his way. It’s not stunning to hear he’s returning, well, supposedly.

The question now is, how long will it last before he changes his mind again, a volatile wideout in a state of confusion, easily choosing the escape hatch when he’s unhappy or furious with the franchise itself? So we must figure, when and if he bonds with an NFL team before next season, that he won’t reasonably have loyalty and will bail out on teammates and coaches to leave behind unfinished business.

It’s always easy to blame critics, but in truth, Moss has brought all of these criticisms on himself for griping to the media and quitting on the field. With all the endless speculations on where he could land an NFL job AGAIN — one almost believes he’s a no-good, worthless, pitiful quitter – callously turning his back on previous teams he played for whenever he was discontent with each organization.

A wide-ranging belief that he’s a rebellious problem-child is the truth in a sense – a notion that even a dumb person would fathom, regarding a troubled wide receiver with too much baggage – which is generally more drama than daytime soap operas. When he’s on the field, playing for a franchise that took a risk in bringing in the cancerous wideout, it feels as if the masses are watching an episode of Young and the Restless or Bold and the Beautiful – and trust me – there’s nothing beautiful about Moss’ bad attitude or constant mood swings.

Very seldom, especially in the NFL, you hear that a player is coming out of retirement to resume a career of hell. For now, he’s the biggest problem in pro sports. He’s a little boy who has become an absolute nuisance in sports and has a psyche like an idiotic kid who can’t tell the difference from right or wrong – including stupidity or intelligence. If there were ever an award given to NFL divas, without a doubt – seeking all attention for behaving like an annoying jerk – Moss would win it every time.  As with Moss announcing his intention of returning to the NFL after spending an entire season away from the game he says he so desperately enjoys, the belief here is that he never quit, when in reality, he fled after 13 seasons as he didn’t have many attractive offers from teams.

Nevermind that he failed to catch more than five passes and couldn’t gain 80 yards receiving in his final 12 games with the Patriots. Nevermind that he was a toxic malcontent who damaged team chemistry and aspiration everywhere he’s been – no team interested in his availability or services, even if he has the intangibles to be a downfield threat. Nevermind that he was the kind of diva who could transform the spirits of teammates and coaches with his laziness, cockiness and apathy in his role as a veteran receiver. All of this, of course, overshadowed his 954 receptions, 14,858 yards receiving and 153 touchdowns – he is the most completed athlete to some degree and is a future Hall of Famer, but no one will ever dismiss that he is NFL’s most unsatisfied and selfish player.

All of a sudden, he’s trying to play in the league again, tired of burning bridges at last and begging for an NFL team to make him an employee. It’s uncertain whether he has matured and become a changed man after a brief retirement, or whether he’s still a spoiled ass brat with defiance and an oversized ego that has left Moss unemployed, when he could have had a home somewhere in the league last season. Is it just me, or is Moss a risk?

Because of Moss’ history, he is a heavy burden and could be too much for any team to handle. It’s not even worth the try, not even worth the hassle, although a team would be stupid enough to give him a chance – and then in the end – will be screwed once he childishly has a hissy fit and begins to pout, mistreating a team that gave him an opportunity to renounce his ego and pompous nature.

There he was, on the day of his 35th birthday Monday, seen in an Internet video acknowledging that he plans on returning to the NFL, changing his freakin’ mind about retirement with the world wondering if and what team he’ll be playing for soon. Consider him now to have made it through an entire season without grabbing our attention, disturbing our senses and hijacking headlines by publicly creating madness each week. Ah, that sounds like Moss. And, indeed, he is seeking our attention.

“I wanna play football,” Moss said on a Ustream video. “Your boy is going to come back here and play some football, so I’m really excited. I had some things I had to adjust in my life. … Faith, family, and football, that’s my MO, bro.”

The truly frightening issue is that the New England Patriots could express interest to renew their vows with Moss, giving Tom Brady another weapon in one of the deepest receiving cores. The scariest issue is that the Philadelphia Eagles could be in the bidding for his services, but the team already has problems of its own with Andy Reid and the so-called “Dream Team” experiment that fizzled ever so miserably. The shameful thought of this absurdity is that the New York Jets wouldn’t mind adding to the Hard Knock drama within a dysfunctional franchise as players and coaches are feuding in Gotham City.

This all sounds preposterous for teams in the running for a man with a badass personality and a brain like Jell-O. Before turning into a petulant and moody player in the NFL, for many years as we witnessed him on highlight reels and making unbelievable catches, Moss was the most talented receiver until he stained his talent by his stupidity and unhappiness. It’s realistic enough to know he’s coming back to expunge the dreadful memories of 2010, the most humiliating season of his 13-year career. So now, he’s longing to respond to his critics, and when he announced his un-retirement intentions, he elaborated on his love for the game.

Is he sure? He is, from his actions and body language, a wishy-washy, elusive player and can never make up his damn mind – the equivalent to Brett Favre, who took us on a crazy retiring/un-retiring saga that turned old instantly. They should have known Moss wasn’t to be trusted, when he abandoned the dysfunctional Raiders with his lazy and uninspired effort, killing morale and hope in Oakland.

It’s not rocket science that he was unproductive and had declined with the Patriots unhappy he wasn’t given full power, which forced New England to trade him after four games to Minnesota, where he was released after another four games. It was no different in Tennessee where, in fact, he was just as bad if not worse. During his stint with the Titans in 2010, he was a waste and finished that season with a career-low 28 catches for 393 yards. That’s the year he only had five touchdowns, the second-lowest in his troubled career.

As much as he’d like to return, Moss is unwelcomed.

Jonathan Mathis

An aspiring sports journalist, a sports columnist for FootBasket, Gridiron Grit, Hardcourt Mayhem, and more. Sports Judge is all sports.