Brady Called Out Moss' Work Ethic Before Trade

Ian Logue

Aug 4, 2011 at 8:02pm ET

It appears there was trouble brewing between Tom Brady last summer prior to the trade of Randy Moss. (FILE:Icon/SMI)

An interesting point I noticed after re-reading some links from Tuesday's headlines entry, and came accross something I hadn't noticed anyone talking about.

Obviously last season everyone remembers that surprising news about Randy Moss being traded following New England's blowout win over Miami, but there were apparently events long before that lead to his departure from New England.

According to this article by ESPN's Jeffri Chadiha, there was trouble brewing on the field last summer before the start of the season:

As it turned out, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was one of the first to notice his decline last summer. A league source said Brady was so concerned about Moss' lagging work ethic that he discussed it with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick in training camp. When Belichick decided that Moss would be fine, Brady became even more agitated after Moss dogged it on a couple routes during an early-season win over Miami.
According to the source, Brady told Belichick during that contest that the team could keep Moss but the receiver wasn't going to be seeing any passes again. Moss was working in Minnesota within days of that conversation.

That certainly makes you question the report earlier this week that New England had offered him a 1-year deal prior to his retirement.

Obviously everyone appreciates Moss' contributions over the years. Thankfully they've moved on, and seem to be in great shape heading into the season.