The New England Patriots trade to acquire Randy Moss from the then-Oakland Raiders will go down as one of the best trades in NFL history.

Moss, who cost New England just a fourth-round pick, caught 259 passes for 3,904 yards and 50 touchdowns in just over three seasons with the Patriots.

But according to former Pats head coach Bill Belichick, the trade almost didn’t happen.

 

Belichick joined the Pat McAfee Show on Thursday night for its coverage of the 2024 NFL Draft. During the show, he broke down the story of trading for Moss, and explained why it was so chaotic.

“The most interesting trade was the Randy Moss trade,” Belichick said. “We had been trying to trade for him for two months, it was like childbirth, it took forever. After the first day of the draft, I talked to (Raiders owner Al) Davis, I said, ‘Are we going to do this deal or not?’ He said, ‘Yeah, we’ll do it for a fourth.’ I said, ‘We’ve got to get the guy for a physical, we have to renegotiate his contract.’ Mr. Davis said, ‘That’s your problem.’”

Belichick then called Moss not once, not twice, but three times before the superstar receiver realized it wasn’t a prank call.

“I call up Randy, I said, ‘It’s coach Belichick.’ He hangs up the phone,” he said, adding that Moss demanded to know, “Who’s pranking me? Is this a joke? This better not be a joke. Who is this?”

Moss eventually relented and rushed to the Patriots’ practice facility. He even took his own plane from Houston in order to get there.

Moss arrived in Foxboro at 8 a.m. ET the next morning. He completed the physical and got straight to work.

“First thing he says to me is, ‘Where’s the playbook?’” Belichick said.

The deal couldn’t have worked out any better.

Moss caught 23 touchdown passes in his first season as a Patriot, and New England went 16-0 before losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.