One of the best and toughest wide receivers to ever play the game, Randy Moss can now add cancer survivor to his list of accomplishments. The Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver announced on social media Friday that he recently had surgery in Charlotte, North Carolina. Moss, who was hospitalized for almost a week, is receiving top of the line care and treatment for cancer that was found outside his bile duct between his pancreas and liver.
During the video, Moss thanked his team, which included doctors, nurses and other medical personnel who have assisted and aided him throughout his cancer fight.
Moss, who said he will now undergo chemotherapy and radiation, also was emotional when thanking his family and “prayer warriors” for their support.
“Your boy is a cancer survivor,” Moss said. “I’m nursing myself back. I’m here with my family, and I can’t wait to bust some of y’all heads on ‘Call of Duty’ or ‘NBA 2K’.”
Moss went on to say he underwent an initial procedure on Thanksgiving to put a stent in his liver after having urine discoloration. That operation confirmed his worse fears.
Shortly after that, Moss announced that he was taking a hiatus from his responsibilities as an NFL analyst for ESPN in order to deal with an “internal” medical issue. Moss’s announcement came days after he discussed his medical situation with his colleges on “Sunday NFL Countdown.”
Embed from Getty ImagesMoss said that he went through a Whipple Procedure six days ago that lasted roughly six hours. He was discharged from the hospital earlier today.
“It was a trying week, some trying times,” Moss said. “So once again, I thank you all. … I felt all the prayers coming through there. Man, I really did, all the prayer warriors coming through there at the time. You know, I was looking at my social media while I was in the hospital. Didn’t have much to look at other than TV and my cellphone. Didn’t do a lot of tweeting, but your prayer warriors, all my teammates, you know, I just don’t want to name no names, but I saw everything you guys tweeted at me, all the prayers, the well wishes. I really felt that my family felt that.”
Moss also announced the launching of a new business venture, his new website, with all proceeds from his “Team Moss” gear going to fund cancer research.
A 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee, Moss is widely considered to be one of the greatest receivers in NFL history. He paced the NFL in touchdown receptions an unbelievable five times. He did so as a rookie by snagging a rookie-record 17 touchdowns while helping the Minnesota Vikings get to within a game of the Super Bowl in 1998. Nine years later, Moss caught a single-season-record 23 touchdowns while helping the New England Patriots become the only team to go undefeated during a 16-game regular season. However, they lost to Eli Manning and the New York Giants, 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.
Nicknamed “The Freak” because of his outrageous talent, Moss was one of the best deep threats the game has even seen. He also had supreme hands and was a major threat to take the ball to the house every time he had it.
All three of those traits were on display on Thanksgiving Day in 1998, when Moss played a man on a mission, delivering one of the most iconic performances and stat lines in NFL history. Moss caught three passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in Minnesota’s win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Moss was also an immensely popular player. That was proven to be true mor than ever this past summer during Tom Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction ceremony, when Moss could not hold back his emotions and was brought to tears after receiving a lengthy thunderous ovation from Patriots fans who were in attendance.
Very few players leave a lasting impact after their playing days are over. Moss certainly did, and now, spreading cancer awareness will also be part of his legacy.
