Count Him In

Moss is coming out of retirement and
making his return to the NFL.

He's back.

Randy Moss, who abruptly retired last August, has agreed to a one-year deal with the San Francisco 49ers following his workout with the team on Monday.

It was just hours after he had been catching passes from head coach Jim Harbaugh, that Moss decided San Francisco would become his fifth career NFL team. The 49ers became only the second team to host a tryout for Moss after he announced on his 35th birthday (Feb. 13), that he would in fact be making a return to football.

Last Tuesday, Moss showcased his talent for the New Orleans Saints, but was not offered a contract. However, multiple team sources reported he "looked like the old Randy", leaving us to believe the Niners saw the same thing.

Our last memory of Moss is a horrific 2010 season in which he started as a New England Patriot and ended as a Tennessee Titan with a return to the Minnesota Vikings sandwiched in between.

He finished the year with career-lows in games started (11), yards per game (24.6), receptions (28) and yards (393). But it was his eight games as a Titan that caused many to believe the freak show we all use to marvel had left the theater, catching just six passes and not scoring a touchdown.

Although, it wouldn't be the first time Moss has risen from the ashes.

After two dismal seasons as a member of the Oakland Raiders in which he caught 102 passes for 11 TDs, including one season with a career-low three, Moss was traded to the Patriots on Draft Day 2007 for a fourth-round pick.

In his first season with New England, Moss was a key contributor of a Patriot team that went undefeated until they lost in Super Bowl XLII, catching a league-leading and NFL-record 23 TDs. Moss also led the NFL in touchdowns in 1998 (17), 2000 (15), 2003 (17) and 2009 (13).

And now joins a team that needs him desperately.

San Francisco possessed one of the worst receiving corps in the league last year. They cut Braylon Edwards. Josh Morgan, who played in just five games after breaking his leg, and Ted Ginn Jr. are both free agents and not expected to return.

Michael Crabtree has been inconsistent and yet to emerge as the star he was at Texas Tech since being drafted with No. 10 pick in the 2009 draft.

The Niners ended an eight-year absence from the postseason after finishing the year with a 13-3 record and their 18th NFC West Division title. But after escaping against the Saints, San Francisco lost in the NFC Championship Game to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants, 20-17.

In that lost, Crabtree was the only wide receiver to catch one of quarterback Alex Smith's 12 completions. Tight end's Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker combined by five more, while running back Frank Gore led the team with six receptions.

Speaking of Smith, San Francisco is in the process of trying to re-sign their still-unproven quarterback - a process that should become easier with the signing of Moss.

Along with his six Pro Bowl selections, Moss has been a member on four All-Pro teams. His 954 receptions and 14,858 yards are ninth and fifth all-time, respectively. Moss' 153 TDs catches are tied for second all-time with Terrell Owens, and trails only Jerry Rice's 197. Twenty-nine of those 153 scores totaled at least 50 yards, also trailing only Rice's 36.

It looks like Moss will be chasing Rice's records in the uniform he help make famous.

CJ2K Gets His Pay Day

Johnson will continue to terrorize AFC
defenses for the next six seasons.

After giving most fantasy football owners along with Tennessee Titan fans a scare everywhere Pro Bowl running back Chris Johnson ended his prolonged hold-out Thursday, agreeing to four-year $53.5 million extension.


The deal will include $30 million guaranteed, making Johnson the highest-paid running back in the NFL, surpassing the Vikings' Adrian Peterson, who is set to make $10.7 million in 2011.

In his brief career, Johnson has become one of the best if not the best running back in the NFL rather quickly. The Orlando native was selected with the 24th overall pick by the Titans back in 2008, but surprisingly was the fourth of the five running back chosen in the first-round that year.

It wouldn't be until a year later that Johnson would land in the NFL spotlight.

2009 was truly year to remember for the now-twenty-five-year-old tailback. In 16 regular season games, Johnson found the end zone 14 times while rushing for 2,006 yards, capturing his first NFL rushing title and became only the sixth player in NFL history to amass 2,000 yards on the ground.

To top it off, Johnson's 2,509 total yards from scrimmage broke NFL legend Marshall Faulk's mark of 2,429 he set back in 1999 while playing for "The Greatest Show on Turf", the St. Louis Rams. He also was selected to his second straight Pro Bowl and was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year.

While his numbers were more than respectable in 2010, Johnson seemingly came back down to earth, rushing for 1,364 yards and 11 scores.

Johnson, who will be entering his fourth year in the NFL this season, has totaled 4,598 yards his first three. Only Eric Dickerson (5,147) and Earl Campbell (5,081), both whom are in the Hall of Fame, have accumulated more rushing yards in their first three NFL seasons.

Johnson's deal could impact
Peterson's contract situation in
Minnesota.

Johnson is not the only Pro Bowl running back that was rewarded this offseason as the Carolina Panthers gave DeAngelo Williams a five-year $43 million contract extension in late July. Then just a day prior to Johnson reaching his agreement with Tennessee, San Francisco's Frank Gore also agreed to an extension valued at $21 million, keeping him by the bay three extra seasons.

This leaves many to wonder what will the Viking's Peterson dictate from the club next offseason as he is in the final-year of his rookie contract.

As for CJ2K, he now becomes the face of the Tennessee franchise if he wasn't already in a titanic move that keeps the former East Carolina Pirate in Nashville through 2016.