Saints GM: Randy Moss works out with New Orleans

[March 08, 2012]  METAIRIE, La. (AP) -- The New Orleans Saints held a workout on Tuesday with veteran receiver Randy Moss, who is trying to make a comeback after spending a year out of pro football.

General Manager Mickey Loomis confirmed the workout took place, but the club did not provide any details on how the 35-year-old Moss performed.

New Orleans may be in the market for a receiver this offseason because two of quarterback Drew Brees' regular targets, Marques Colston and Robert Meachem, are entering free agency, and it remains to be seen whether the Saints can offer the type of contracts that both of them want.

Colston's agent is Joel Segal, who also represents Moss.

"Randy had an outstanding workout, as expected," Segal said. "He's in phenomenal shape."

The 6-foot-4 Moss last played in the NFL in 2010, a turbulent season for him in which he bounced from New England to Minnesota and then to Tennessee.

His best season was with New England in 2007, when he caught 98 passes for 1,493 yards and single-season record 23 touchdowns in helping the Patriots to a 16-0 regular season record.

Moss, a standout at Marshall before beginning his NFL career with the Vikings in 1998, has 954 catches for 14,858 yards and 153 TDs in a career that has ranged from the spectacular to the bizarre.

Moss has had more than 1,000 yards receiving in a season 10 times, second only to Jerry Rice, who did that 14 times.

Yet he also infamously once said, "I play when I want to play," essentially confirming criticism that he periodically took plays off when the ball wasn't coming to him.

During the 2010 season, after he had been traded from New England to Minnesota, then played for the Vikings in a loss to the Patriots, he praised New England coach Bill Belichick and criticized Vikings coaches. He released by Minnesota shortly afterward and claimed by Tennessee for the final eight games of the season, but had only six receptions for 80 yards and no TDs for the Titans.

Saints coach Sean Payton has often spoken of placing a priority on players' character and limiting off-the-field distractions, but the coach is apparently open to seeing whether Moss can still play, and giving the receiver a chance to persuade him that some of the odd outbursts for which he has been known are a thing of the past.

[Associated Press; By BRETT MARTEL]

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