Like any team, the Green Bay Packers have had their ups and downs. But winning two Super Bowls in the past three decades is more success than most can claim.
However, after having Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, the Packers are also often criticized for not winning more Lombardi Trophies despite having two of the NFL’s best quarterbacks in that same time period.
One of the Packers’ biggest knocks, at times, has been not having an elite, go-to receiver that Rodgers, Favre, and now Jordan Love can rely on. Randy Moss would have fixed that.
While the Packers were never going to be able to reel in Moss away from their NFC North rivals during his heyday with the Minnesota Vikings, the Hall of Fame receiver did eventually land with the Raiders via trade. Yet, despite Moss filling Al Davis’ cravings of a need for speed, things weren’t working out in Oakland.
After Moss had a career-worst 553 receiving yards during a depressing 2-14 season, the Raiders traded their star receiver when his value was at an all-time low. While his stock was low, the 29-year-old still packed world-class speed into a freakish 6-foot-4 frame. In other words, several teams had interest, including the Packers.
Andrew Brandt details why Green Bay Packers said no to Randy Moss trade
According to the team’s former vice president Andrew Brandt, Green Bay considered trading for Moss back in 2007, but Packers general manager Ted Thompson vetoed the deal. The issue? Moss wanted to play on a one-year deal, and the Packers weren’t comfortable taking that gamble.
“Moss was made available by the Raiders. He wanted out. They wanted to move him and it wasn’t going to be a lot of draft compensation to move him. Where we stalled was that we didn’t want a one-year deal.”
“We wanted more than a one-year deal. We wanted a two-year deal, we tried to negotiate it, and once the Patriots came in with that one-year deal, they got him.”
“Ted Thompson was very clear with me: let’s not do this for one year. We want more than one year, we’ll do a second year, we’ll do a bonus in early March of Year 2, but we’re not going to do a one-year deal.”
Keep in mind, Moss was only traded for a fourth-round pick, the 110th selection overall. He then went on to have a historic season in his first season with the Patriots after the trade, hauling in 98 catches for 1,493 receiving yards and an NFL record 23 touchdowns.
He wasn’t exactly washed up, and he was right to want to prove his worth on a one-year deal. He had two more 1,000-yard seasons the next two years and never topped 500 yards again, but it’s hard not to think of what could have been if Moss teamed up with Favre and then Rodgers for a few seasons.
