The New England Patriots traded for Randy Moss just before the 2007 NFL Draft, and it was head coach Bill Belichick who made the call to the wide receiver.
It was early in the morning and Moss remembered that he was walking into a club when his phone rang. The two recalled their entire conversation on 'The Dynasty: New England Patriots' Episode 4: Spygate.
Moss picked up the phone, and after an initial hello, the first words he heard caused him to second guess who was on the other side.
“Hey Randy, it’s Coach Belichick," the Patriots head coach said.
Moss questioned it, thinking it was a prank call, and immediately hung up the phone.
"I went, okay maybe he doesn’t want to come to New England." Belichick said with a smile. "So then I called him again."
Things didn't go much better at the beginning of the second conversation.
"Hello," Moss said once again, to which Belichick responded, "Randy this is Coach Belichick.”
The wide receiver still thought it was a joke
“And I’m sitting there like who the hell keeps playing on my phone," Moss remembered thinking during the phone call.
“And he’s like alright now who is this. Like this is a prank.” Bill added, but the coach persisted and finally said what he had been trying to the whole time. “I just want to let you know this is Bill Belichick and we traded for you.”
But in typical Belichick fashion, after the coach made the initial declaration, he didn't hold back on what he expected next.
"He cut straight to the chase. He said look man, if you’re not up here by 10 o’clock tomorrow morning, no trade," Moss said. "And I was like oh sh**, I just hung up on Bill.”
He took a moment to digest the news he had gotten, but once he did, it was time to celebrate
“Me and a couple of my boys are sitting at a table and I order a 12 pack of Corona," Moss added. "Man I held one of my Corona’s up and I said, 'I’m going to be a Patriot!'”
Moss went on to spend (almost) four seasons with the Patriots and despite his immense contributions to the team, he was never able to earn a Super Bowl ring in New England.
Across 52 games with the Patriots, Moss finished with 259 receptions for 3,904 receiving yards and 50 receiving touchdowns. That included 23 touchdowns in his first season with the team.
His time with the Patriots ended during the 2010 season after he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings.
But regardless of how things ended, Moss will forever be a Patriot. And this story is one that will live on forever, because it's truly amazing.
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