There is a growing sentiment that Reggie Fowler will meet the NFL’s financial demands and complete his purchase of the Vikings soon. There also is the realization that Fowler won’t get it done and Red McCombs will remain the team’s owner this season.
That means the early reaction to news of the Randy Moss trade–following “Hallelujah”–is that McCombs wanted to save money (about $45.5 million) in case he’s still in charge.
McCombs can prove dumping Moss was not about money. If he’s still in charge at the April 23 NFL draft, he can allow scouting director Scott Studwell to use the No. 7 overall pick they will acquire from Oakland.
No trading down. No maneuvering of any kind. Take one of the top players and pay the price. Last April’s No. 7 pick–Texas receiver Roy Williams by Detroit–got a five-year, $46 million contract with a $15 million signing bonus. If McCombs lets the pick be used, then we’ll know the trade was about common sense, not billions of cents.
Moss is one of the five biggest pains in the NFL. He had started missing more practices, and finally games, with injuries. He was not devoted to off-season conditioning.
What are the Vikings surrendering by trading Moss? Big numbers individually and nothing more. The Vikings were 29-37 (1-1 in the playoffs) in Moss’ last four seasons.
If the No. 7 pick is used, the Moss trade can be marked down as the last in a very short list of contributions McCombs has made to Minnesota’s favorite team.