Randy Moss Remembers Accidentally Cursing Bill Belichick Out When He Was Traded to Patriots

Randy Moss accidentally cursed Bill Belichick out after he was traded to the Patriots because he thought the coach was a friend prank calling him.

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Complex Original

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Tuesday marks the NFL's trade deadline (4 p.m. ET, to be exact), and though the NFL's final chance to swap players is far less active than other leagues, it'll represent the last time you get to imagine absurd hypothetical swaps to bolster your favorite team until the next offseason. It also gives us the perfect opportunity to remember trades of the past.

For example, Randy Moss was interviewed by his employer, ESPN, on Tuesday about the time he was traded from the Raiders to the Patriots in 2007 for a fourth-round pick. And during the interview, he admitted that he was so surprised by the trade that he accidentally cursed New England head coach Bill Belichick out when he called to tell him about it because Moss thought it was a friend prank calling him:

I got a phone call and it was Bill Belichick. I thought it was a friend or somebody playing with my phone. I actually cussed him out. When he kept saying it was Bill Belichick, I knew he was serious. I started being apologetic because I had cussed the man. Then he told me the Raiders were thinking about trading me. I had to be in Foxborough by 10 p.m. Eastern, or the trade would void. So, I just did everything that I could possibly do to get up there by 10 p.m.

Though the phone call came at 2:30 in the morning, Moss was still able to channel enough energy to make it to a team physical, which spared him from having to spend another season with Oakland.

Of course, if you remember the 2007 season, you know the rest was history. The Patriots ran the table—in the regular season anyway—and went 16-0, and Moss set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches. Asked if he had any regrets about his time with the Pats, Moss only had one, and you can probably guess what it is:

"The only regret: Having an undefeated season, doing so many great things, then, when the game counted for us to really bring it home in the Super Bowl, we couldn't bring it home."

Never forget.

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