Raiders get Moss in fold, close in on RB Jordan

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Randy Moss officially joined the Raiders on Wednesday, when Oakland completed a trade with the Minnesota Vikings for the star receiver.

Moss was scheduled to be formally introduced by his new team in an afternoon news conference, Raiders senior administrator Artie Gigantino said. The Raiders were working to restructure his base salary of $7.5 million for next season into a more cap-friendly signing bonus to be prorated over future years.

The Vikings receive linebacker Napoleon Harris, the No. 7 pick in April's NFL Draft and a late-round pick in the swap, which was completed a week ago but couldn't be made official until Wednesday.

Oakland also was in serious talks with free-agent running back LaMont Jordan, whose addition also could be announced. Jordan spent his first four seasons with the New York Jets.

The 28-year-old Moss will provide a huge upgrade to an offense determined to return to the high-powered vertical passing game of years past so preferred by owner Al Davis. It was their proficient passing attack that led the Raiders to the 2002 Super Bowl, won 48-21 by Tampa Bay.

Quarterback Kerry Collins couldn't be happier with the acquisition.

"If he's not the best, he's certainly one of the best," Collins said. "You can make a strong argument. Everybody has their own opinions. But ask any quarterback around the league which receiver they'd want, and I think most would say Randy Moss."

Moss spent much of last season limited by a hamstring injury and didn't reach 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his seven-year career. He finished with 49 catches for 767 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He joins Jerry Porter in a talented young receiving corps. Porter led the Raiders with 64 catches for 998 yards and nine touchdowns, falling just short of his first 1,000-yard season. His receptions were a career high, and he scored three touchdowns in a game twice.

"We've got to check our egos, and the ball has to be distributed in a way to make everybody happy," said Porter, who re-signed with the team for five years and close to $20 million last week.

Several of Moss' new teammates have said they aren't worried about his sometimes controversial antics over the years.

Moss was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during Minnesota's playoff win and also drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a regular-season loss against Washington.

Other transgressions included bumping a traffic control officer with his car in 2002, verbally abusing corporate sponsors on a team bus in 2001 and squirting an official with a water bottle in 1999, in addition to his infamous "I play when I want to play" comments.