Justin Jefferson explains MNF tribute to Randy Moss
With Randy Moss announcing his cancer diagnosis last week, Minnesota Vikings (12-2) receiver Justin Jefferson took an opportunity to pay tribute to the team legend during Monday’s 30-12 Week 15 home win over the Chicago Bears (4-10).
Jefferson hauled in a seven-yard touchdown pass from Sam Darnold in the first quarter on his first target of the game. Jefferson approached the ESPN camera and said, “We love you, Randy. That’s for you.” The All-Pro wideout has 38 career receiving touchdowns, perhaps none more special than that one.
“Every game is a plan to get into the end zone, but I definitely wanted to give a tribute to him on one of my touchdowns,” said Jefferson, while wearing a custom shirt styled after a 2000 Moss Vikings jersey complete with the team’s 40th Anniversary patch, via Craig Peters of the team’s official website. “It was great to have it done in the first quarter. I’m grateful for what he has done for this game and what he did for me as a kid, just watching him and being a fan of him. I’ve always got to show love for him. I texted him and wished him the best of luck. I was happy to see he came out and said he had beaten cancer. I’ll always have him in my prayers.”
Randy Moss reacts to outpouring of love from Vikings, NFL during MNF
Jefferson’s tribute was preceded by Cris Carter and Jake Reed‘s honoring of their former teammate during the coin toss, as the duo walked onto the field holding up a Moss No. 84 jersey. Moss was touched by the gesture, chiming in on social media, “LUV U ALL! #letsmosscancer.”
Moss, the Pro Football Hall of Famer and ESPN analyst, said he spent six days in the hospital after undergoing a six-hour surgery. Moss said doctors found cancer in his bile ducts between his pancreas and liver. He still has to undergo chemotherapy but said he’s now a “survivor” after getting back from the hospital. Moss stepped down from “Sunday NFL Countdown” for an extended time as he focuses on his recovery.
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Head coach Kevin O’Connell, another former teammate of Moss, said the organization is with Moss “every step of the way.”
“We talked internally this week about what we could do to show our support, our love for Randy,” O’Connell said. “Everybody knows, former teammate of mine, but most importantly you can feel the love for him in this building tonight.
“It’s great to have C.C. and Jake Reed here to carry his jersey out there. It was a heck of a movement. … [Moss] means the world to this organization. His name is up in the rafters in the Ring of Honor and [he’s a] Hall of Famer.”