As trades go, this was a steal, a legacy-enhancer, a move that helped propel a club to one of the most dominant regular seasons of all-time.
It was, of course, the deal that brought wide receiver Randy Moss to New England for a mere fourth-round pick, and it happened eight years ago Wednesday.
Then 30 years old, Moss was coming off a 42-catch, 553-yard season for Oakland in 2006. Viewed that way, a fourth-round selection wasn’t a terrible haul for Moss.
But Moss, as we now know, was far from done, and in 2007, Moss hauled in 98 passes for 1,493 yards and 23 TDs as New England rolled to a 16-0 regular season and two playoff wins. Moss would go on to have two more 1,000-yard seasons for the Patriots before he was dealt to Minnesota in 2010.
The Raiders, meanwhile, couldn’t turn that fourth-rounder into an impact player, selecting cornerback John Bowie, who played just five regular-season games with the club.
In the end, the Patriots won big on a calculated risk. The Raiders, their trading partners, did not do nearly as well, but it wasn’t as if they were dealing Moss as the top of his market value. Making matters worse, the Raiders had dealt for Moss at that very point two years earlier, when they sent a package including a first-round pick to Minnesota for the star receiver.
Ultimately, the Raiders and Patriots were both acting logically. The Patriots saw a chance to get a talented receiver for a relatively small cost, and the Raiders were clearly happy just to get something back after a so-so season from Moss.
That doesn’t mean history will remember the trade kindly from Oakland’s perspective, though.