NFL Draft

Randy Moss Hung Up On Belichick Multiple Times When Coach Tried to Trade For Him

The misunderstanding between Belichick and Moss eventually was resolved, but the comparison to it being "like childbirth" as told by Belichick is worth hearing

Chris Pirrone

Sep 26, 2010; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss (81) warms up
Sep 26, 2010; Foxboro, MA, USA; New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss (81) warms up / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
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On The Pat McAfee Draft show special, Coach Belichick provided insights on draft day trades and told a story about the the most interesting draft day trade he had been a part of. It involved trading for Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss.

In 2007, the Patriots make a deal with Al Davis and the then-Oakland Raiders to bring Moss to New England to become a weapon for Tom Brady. Belichick hilariously described the Moss trade process, going so far as to compare it to childbirth.

Belichick recounted that, "the most interesting trade was the Randy Moss trade. We had been trying to trade for him for two months, it was like childbirth, it took forever. After the first day of the draft, I talked to Mr. (Al) Davis. I said, 'Are we going to do this deal or not?' He said, 'Yeah, we'll do it for a fourth.' I said, 'We've got to get the guy for a physical, we have to renegotiate his contract.' Mr. Davis said, 'That's your problem.'"

After agreeing to trade compensation with the Raiders, Belichick had to scramble to negotiate the terms of a new contract with Moss before they could finalize the trade.

This required getting Moss to Boston immediately to undergo a physical and renegotiate his contract.

But it took Belichick a couple of calls to get Moss on the phone because the wideout kept hanging up on him, thinking that it was a prank. Moss hung up on Coach for Belichick's first attempt. On the second try, Moss responded, "Is this a joke?"


When Moss finally accepted that it was really Belichick and that the Patriots had actually traded for him, Belichick asked Moss to quickly come to Foxboro, MA to wokr out the terms and take a mandatory physical. Moss responded, "I got a plane, I'll be there."

The next day Moss arrived early, passed the physical (which Belichick insinuated wasn't exactly "in-depth"), and Moss agreed to rework his contract.



Moss immediately requested the Pats playbook to begin preparations. Moss allegeldy said, "Where's the play book? When I walk out there with Brady, I have to know all the plays."

Belichick said "Randy was smart."

Belichick praised Moss' commitment and football intelligence. The combo of Belichick, Brady and Moss turned out to be outstanding. That season Moss set the NFL record for most touchdowns in a season with 23 and the Patriots ran the table during the regular season, going 16-0. Unfortunately for the Patriot's hall-of-fame trio, the final game was a loss to New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

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Chris Pirrone

CHRIS PIRRONE