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Agent: Vikings agree to deal Moss to Raiders
February 23, 2005

Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss pretended to pull his pants down and moon the crowd at Lambeau Field, after scoring a touchdown against the Packers in a January playoff game. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images )

Minneapolis, Minn. — (AP) Randy Moss is heading to Oakland, the receiver's agent said Wednesday.

Dante DiTrapano, Moss' agent, told The Associated Press that the Minnesota Vikings and the Raiders had "come to an agreement on Randy playing for Oakland next year."

Neither the Vikings nor the Raiders would confirm the deal, which was first reported by The St. Paul Pioneer Press on its Web site.

"We have had discussions with the Oakland Raiders, but there's nothing to announce," Rob Brzezinski, Minnesota's vice president of football operations, told The Associated Press.

Raiders spokesman Mike Taylor declined comment on the trade reports.

DiTrapano said he didn't know the terms of the deal, but the Pioneer Press reported the Vikings would get linebacker Napoleon Harris, along with the seventh overall pick and a late-round pick in the upcoming draft.

The deal cannot become official until March 2, the start of the NFL's fiscal year.

"It's just like any other contract. There's a meeting of the minds between the people who negotiate for the Vikings and the people who negotiate for the Raiders," DiTrapano said. "It just hasn't been reduced to writing and it won't be until March 2."

Moss is due to make $7.25 million next year. Harris is due to make $5.41 million.

The flamboyant Moss had been the subject of trade rumors following this past season. He struggled with a hamstring injury, but still finished with 13 touchdown catches. He was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during Minnesota's playoff win. He also drew criticism for leaving the field with 2 seconds left in a regular-season loss against Washington.

Team leaders Matt Birk and Daunte Culpepper confronted Moss after he walked off at Washington, and the organization's patience with the receiver seemed to dwindle in the past year or so.

"He's my good friend, but you almost get to thinking that maybe enough is enough," Culpepper said earlier this month at the Pro Bowl. "And maybe the Vikings organization has had enough."

DiTrapano said Moss was "very pleased to be going to Oakland and looking forward to playing with a team that's promised they're going to throw the ball deep a whole lot to him and having a chance at winning the Super Bowl."

"He doesn't leave Minnesota with any grudges," DiTrapano said. "It just was frustrating for him to lose."

He leaves Minnesota as the only receiver in NFL history to start his career with six straight 1,000-yard seasons. Last year he had 49 catches for 767 yards and 13 touchdowns while battling a hamstring injury.

On Tuesday, the Raiders re-signed Jerry Porter, their top wide receiver to a contract worth $20 million over five years. Porter could have become a free agent on March 2.