Former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver and ESPN analyst Randy Moss got terrifying news during the middle of the 2024 NFL season, learning he had a form of cancer serious enough that it required he step away from his broadcasting responsibilities to undergo treatment.
However, after taking on the potentially deadly diagnosis, Moss is on his way back to the airwaves for what the network said on Tuesday, July 1, will be the entirety of the upcoming campaign — Moss’s 10th with ESPN.
“Randy’s return on Super Bowl Sunday was an emotional lift — not just for our team, but for the entire football community — and knowing he will resume his full Sunday NFL Countdown schedule, beginning in Week 1, has been the highlight of the offseason,” ESPN said in a statement to The Athletic, according to Andrew Marchand.
Randy Moss Took Leave From ESPN Last Season for Cancer Treatment
GettyESPN NFL analyst and former Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Randy Moss.
Fans began to speculate about an issue to Moss’s health after his eyes appeared yellow on television, and even more so after he wore sunglasses during a broadcast of “Sunday NFL Countdown,” which Moss co-hosts every weekend during the season.
Moss eventually made an announcement via social media in December that doctors had identified cancer in the bile duct between his liver and pancreas. His health team first placed a stent in his liver before treating Moss by way of chemotherapy and radiation.
Marchand did not offer a specific status update on Moss’s cancer as part of his report on Tuesday. As such, it is unclear if Moss’s cancer is in remission, completely gone or still an issue requiring regular treatment of some kind.
However, Marchand did report the following: “[Moss’s] recovery has progressed to the point where he is expected to join the ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ crew every Sunday,” Marchand wrote.
Randy Moss Among Best Wide Receivers in Vikings, NFL History
GettyNFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss.
Moss, now 48 years old, finished his playing career following the 2012 season as among the greatest receivers in NFL history.
He began his Hall of Fame march with the Vikings as a first-round pick (No. 21) overall in 1998, the first in a series of excellent wideouts who were immediately productive in Minnesota and whom the franchise procured in the mid-20s of the opening round: Justin Jefferson, No. 22 overall in 2020 and Jordan Addison, No. 23 overall in 2023.
Moss didn’t just win the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award in 1998, he also earned Pro-Bowl honors and a first-team All-Pro nod on the strength of 69 catches for 1,313 receiving yards and a league-leading 17 touchdown receptions.
He played the next six seasons with Minnesota before joining the Las Vegas Raiders (then based in Oakland) in 2005. Moss remained in Northern California for two seasons before linking up with the New England Patriots for a full three-year stint.
He began his fourth season in New England in 2010, but ended up playing for the Vikings for four games and the Tennessee Titans for eight games later that year. Moss retired in 2011 before returning to the league for one last hoorah in 2012 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.
All told, Moss recorded 982 receptions for 15,292 receiving yards and 156 touchdowns, leading the league in receiving TDs on four occasions over the course of his 14-year career. He made six Pro Bowls and four first-team All-Pro rosters.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post ESPN Makes Major Announcement on Future of Vikings Great Randy Moss appeared first on Heavy Sports.