Moss returns to Metrodome
Football season at the Metrodome seemed to be missing something last year.
For the first time in eight years, Randy Moss wasn’t there hauling in long touchdown passes.
That could change tonight when Moss returns to the place where he became a star, this time for a preseason game against his former team. The Minnesota Vikings traded the supremely talented but maddeningly enigmatic Moss to the Oakland Raiders before last season.
“It is going to be something special,” Moss said. “Hopefully, the Metrodome will sell out because I’m coming back, but I’m a Raider now.”
Moss certainly is familiar with playing in front of a sellout crowd at the raucous Dome. When the Vikings drafted him in 1998, it was like one big adrenaline shot to a franchise that was stuck in a rut.
Before he came to town, the Vikings often had trouble filling seats. But every home game Moss played for the Vikings – from his preseason debut in 1998 to his final appearance in the Dome in 2004 – sold out.
He racked up more yards and scored more touchdowns in his first six seasons than any other receiver in NFL history, but too often found himself in the middle of dustups on the field and off.
Nevertheless, his No. 84 jerseys were wildly popular with fans, and still are spotted in the Twin Cities and at training camp in Mankato.
“What I did in Minnesota, what I accomplished in Minnesota, is way, way behind me,” Moss said. “But this being my first trip back to the Metrodome, it will be special, but I’m focusing on trying to get our offense moving in the right direction.”
Seau will retire
Junior Seau, a 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker who played with the San Diego Chargers and the Miami Dolphins during a 16-year NFL career, will announce his retirement today.
Seau will make the announcement at a news conference at Chargers Park this afternoon, the team said in a statement Sunday.
The 37-year-old Seau spent the past three seasons with Miami after being acquired from San Diego.
He was released by the Dolphins in March after missing 17 games the past two years due to injury. An Achilles’ tendon injury limited him to seven games in 2005. Seau ended the 2004 season on injured reserve because of a torn pectoral muscle.
Portis injures shoulder
Running back Clinton Portis partially dislocated his left shoulder during Washington’s opening series of the preseason Sunday night, a significant setback for the Redskins’ revamped offense.
An MRI test detected the injury, which involves the bone popping out of place temporarily in the shoulder socket. Standard treatment involves rest and strengthening exercises.
There was no immediate indication how long he will be sidelined.