Minnesota will receive Harris, draft picks

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ESPN.com news services
Randy Moss is heading for Oakland, the receiver's agent said Wednesday.


Dante DiTrapano, Moss' agent, told The Associated Press that the Minnesota Vikings and the Raiders had "come to an agreement on Randy playing for Oakland next year."

Neither the Vikings nor the Raiders would confirm the deal, which was first reported by The St. Paul Pioneer Press on its Web site.
"We have had discussions with the Oakland Raiders, but there's nothing to announce," Rob Brzezinski, the team's vice president of football operations, told the AP.

Raiders spokesman Mike Taylor declined comment on the trade reports.
DiTrapano said he didn't know the terms of the deal, but the Pioneer Press reported the Vikings would get linebacker Napoleon Harris, along with the seventh overall pick and a late-round pick in the upcoming draft.
The deal cannot become official until March 2, the start of the NFL's fiscal year.

"It's just like any other contract. There's a meeting of the minds between the people who negotiate for the Vikings and the people who negotiate for the Raiders," DiTrapano said. "It just hasn't been reduced to writing and it won't be until March 2."

The flamboyant Moss had been the subject of trade rumors following this past season. He struggled with a hamstring injury but still finished with 13 touchdown catches. He was fined $10,000 for pretending to pull down his pants and moon the Green Bay crowd during Minnesota's playoff win. He also drew criticism for leaving the field with two seconds left in a regular-season loss against Washington.

Team leaders Matt Birk and Daunte Culpepper confronted Moss after he walked off at Washington, and the organization's patience with the receiver seemed to dwindle in the past year or so.

"He's my good friend, but you almost get to thinking that maybe enough is enough," Culpepper said earlier this month at the Pro Bowl. "And maybe the Vikings organization has had enough."

DiTrapano said Moss was "very pleased to be going to Oakland and looking forward to playing with a team that's promised they're going to throw the ball deep a whole lot to him and having a chance at winning the Super Bowl."
"He doesn't leave Minnesota with any grudges," DiTrapano said. "It just was frustrating for him to lose."

He leaves Minnesota as the only receiver in NFL history to start his career with six straight 1,000-yard seasons. Last year he had 49 catches for 767 yards and 13 touchdowns while battling a hamstring injury.

On Tuesday, the Raiders re-signed Jerry Porter, their star wide receiver, to a contract worth $20 million over five years. Porter could have become a free agent on March 2.

Once Moss leaves Minnesota, the Vikings' top receiver will be Nate Burleson. Former Steeler Plaxico Burress is the cream of the free-agent crop, but the Vikings could also snare a potential salary-cap casualty such as Isaac Bruce, Muhsin Muhammad or Derrick Mason. The draft also has two promising players -- Michigan's Braylon Edwards and USC's Mike Williams.

The Raiders will take on Moss' $7.25 million base salary for next season, while the Vikings will save nearly $2 million against their cap. Four seasons remain on Moss' eight-year $75 million contract.


Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

[Ghs]

Who want's to volunteer to cover Joey Porter and Randy Moss? not me that's for sure

[titansrule]

i think this is a good deal on both parts...randy was becoming a sure pain in the *** for the vikes...but now they get a good LB which they need, and the seventh overall pick. i think thats good stuff for them. and the raiders receive one of the best receivers in the game.