Randy Moss says Vikings traded him because he 'only cared about football'
Moss was elected into the Vikings' Ring of Honor on Wednesday
By
Kevin Skiver
•
2 min read
Randy Moss's career was always mired in controversy. During a time of diva wide receivers, Moss was one of the most dramatic. Sometimes his talent was overshadowed by his antics, but his raw ability was more than enough to keep him one of the most sought after receivers in the NFL. However, there was apparently a telephone situation where tellings of some of his exploits went awry; that is according to Moss himself.
Moss's quote "I play when I want to play" is one that dogged him his entire career after leaving the Vikings via a trade to the Raiders in 2005. Moss said that the quote was misconstrued on Wednesday as he was being inducted into the Vikings' Ring of Honor, and then went into full job interview mode. When Sid Hartman, the journalist that published the quote, asked about it, Moss replied. "As you mature, you grow, and I think I should have spoke about what I really meant."
"I love the game so much. I sacrificed so much," Moss said. "I honestly think I got traded out of here because I only cared about the game of football. I know that seems weird, it sounds weird, but I didn't really do anything outside of the game of football. I didn't go anywhere, I didn't like to mingle a lot, I only cared about football. That was probably, maybe one of my worst attributes of trying to branch off outside of the game of football. But hey, that's all I knew, that's what I grew up believing."
Moss didn't shy away from the quote, but what he seemed to be getting at was a relatively simple fact: Moss always wanted to play.
"When I tell you I wore the game of football on my shoulder, I really wore it on my shoulder. I didn't give myself any breaks, no time off," he said. "Tunnel vision, man. I always wanted to play the game of football. Something I grew up loving to do as a kid. Some people like to play with their cars, some girls like to play with their doll babies. Ever since I was 6 years old, I loved the game of football, man. That's what drove me to where I'm at today."
Moss's passion drove him, and his athleticism remains talked about as some of the best longtime football watchers have ever seen. His stride down the field was unparalleled. And although he bounced around and didn't produce in his final years, the excitement around signing him never waned, just in case he got some kind of opportunity to shine again. Now Moss is working for ESPN, and one thing is certain: He's going to hang around football for as long as he can.
