Patriots receiver Randy Moss isn’t looking only for a new agent. He’s also looking for a new team.
But not yet, supposedly.
“I’ve already said this may be my last year with the Patriots, that this is my last year under contract with the New England Patriots,” Moss told Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald, who’s milking his recent conversation with the enigmatic receiver drier than Greg Fokker’s cat. “Hopefully, with 31 other teams knowing I’ll be available after this year, it’s just like agents knowing I’m available and [I] don’t have an agent. . . . But I’m just going to play this year out like it’s my first year.”
The last time Moss played out the last year of his contract came in 2007, when he set a single-season record for touchdown receptions in his first season with the Pats. So he’s smart enough to know that, in order to get paid in 2011, he needs to have a big year in 2010.
That said, we wonder whether Moss’ meetings with prospective agents will include a question or two about how they would go about forcing the issue with the Patriots sooner rather than later, in the hopes of getting him some more straight cash, homey -- or getting him to a team that is willing to pay him now.
Moss have one other objective, too. “I need another shot at that Super Bowl,” Moss said.
He could get it in New England. He arguably would have an even better shot at it elsewhere.
In that regard, we keep coming back to the possibility that Moss believes he has unfinished business in Minnesota, where a certain quarterback who lobbied for him in 2007 most likely will be returning for another year, or two.
UPDATE: For those of you who have been in a coma for the past five years, “straight cash, homey” is a reference to a classic video of Moss talking about how he’ll pay his $10,000 fine for pretending to moon the fans at Lambeau Field after scoring a touchdown during a January 2005 playoff game. And it’s not even the funniest line of the clip.