Cris Carter, the former Vikings receiver who served as something of a mentor to a young Randy Moss during Moss’s first stint in Minnesota, said today that he thinks Moss just wants to feel appreciated -- and by that he means he wants a contract extension.
“Randy’s thing right now is, number one, he wants to be appreciated like a lot of other star athletes,” Carter said this morning on ESPN. “And the appreciation comes with a contract extension.”
Moss has at times bristled at the suggestion that Carter knew what made him tick -- Moss made his infamous “I play when I want to play” comment after being asked whether he needs Carter to get him motivated. But Carter, who was highly critical of Moss’s effort last season, seems to think he knows what will make Moss give the Vikings his all this season.
“I think if he gets the extension he will be very happy,” Carter said.
So far it does not appear that the Vikings and Moss have worked out a new deal. It will be interesting to see whether Brett Favre offers to give back some of the new money the Vikings gave him in August if it helps to get a deal done for Moss.
If Moss is happy, Carter says the Vikings will be happy with what he can bring to the offense.
“Moss knows ‘go deep’ better than anyone in the history of football,” Carter said. “I don’t care where everyone else is playing. If Brett says, ‘Hey, man, go deep,’ that part right there is easy to work out.