Minnesota Vikings Hall of Shame: Worst breakup and more

After celebrating the Vikings by highlighting their players who someday could be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we flip the script to give you Minnesota's Hall of Shame.  

Worst breakup: Randy Moss

In 2005, the Vikings inexplicably traded wide receiver Moss to the Raiders, a move that still must stick in the craw of Minnesota fans. Moss was no Boy Scout, but the narrative that he was one of the league's "bad boys" helped fuel excuses for a trade that probably didn't have to happen. 

Following several fruitless attempts to build a new stadium in Minnesota, owner Red McCombs decided to sell the Vikings in 2005. But first he sent Moss packing in a trade that he confirmed years later was his decision alone. 

McCombs denied moving Moss out of spite, but it's hard not to connect the dots. Moss didn't play lights-out after the deal, earning All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors only once over the next six seasons. However, Moss had the choice to stay a Viking for life taken out of his hands, robbing Minnesota fans of years of memories. 

Worst draft pick: RB Darrin Nelson 

Nelson played 12 seasons in the NFL, 10 for the Vikings, but never came close to living up to the expectations of being the seventh overall selection in the 1982 draft. The Nelson selection — three picks before the pick of future Hall of Fame RB Marcus Allen by the Raiders — had a ripple effect that haunted the Vikings for years. 

After Nelson failed to be the answer in the backfield, Minnesota reached for another first-round RB, D.J. Dozier, in the 1987 NFL Draft. He flopped.

Two seasons later, the Vikings traded Nelson, four players and eight draft picks (including three first-rounders) to the Dallas Cowboys for Herschel Walker. Dallas would use those assets to acquire future Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland and Darren Woodson, critical pieces to three Cowboys Super Bowl titles in the 1990s. 

Worst free-agent signing: WR Bernard Berrian 

Following three mostly middling seasons with the Bears, Berrian posted a 71-catch campaign in 2007 with Chicago before cashing in on the free-agent market. The Vikings took the bait, signing Berrian to a six-year, $43.4 million deal that put him among the league's highest-paid wideouts.

Berrian had a solid first season with the Vikings, recording seven touchdown catches and averaging a career-high 20.1 yards per catch (48 receptions). However, he never played well enough to warrant his contract and his lackluster production left a big hole in the offense.

Berrian had only 90 catches for 961 yards and four touchdown catches combined over his last three years in Minnesota. Waived by the Vikings during the 2011 season, Berrian never played in another NFL game. 

Worst loss: NFC Championship Game, Jan. 17, 1999 

The 1998 Vikings seemed like a team of destiny, primed to win the franchise's first Lombardi Trophy after four failed tries. Fueled by an electric offense, including quarterback Randall Cunningham and future Hall of Fame wideouts Moss and Cris Carter, the Vikings cruised to an NFL-best 15-1 record and were favored to win the Super Bowl. However, one step away, fate intervened, leading to the most heartbreaking loss in Vikings history. 

Veteran kicker Gary Anderson, who had made all 94 of his kicks that season, pushed a 39-yard attempt wide left, which would've put the Vikings up by 10 points over the Atlanta Falcons with 2:11 left in the fourth quarter. 

Later, the Falcons tied the score at 27-27, forcing overtime, and Morten Andersen booted a 38-yard field goal to send Atlanta to Super Bowl XXXIII. The Vikings have come up short in three NFC Championship Game appearances since, but none of those losses compares to the disappointing end to the 1998 season.