Randy Moss is an iconic football player and was a generational talent at wide receiver.
It only took Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones over 20 years to realize that, but when he did, he finally apologized and owned up to his mistake.
Randy Moss explained as much when he was on the “Rich Eisen Show” this week, when he declared that at one point during one of the analyst’s preseason games with ESPN, that the iconic Dallas Cowboys owner approached him, embraced him and thoroughly apologized for passing him up in the 1998 draft.
“The crazy part about it is them kicking the tires one time was – Jerry basically summed it up for me, Rich,” Moss said. “He came and give me a big hug one day during a preseason game when I was working for ESPN. He just apologized. It really felt good to hear that coming from Jerry because of how many emotions I had on draft day.” Moss finished.
“I respect the Cowboys and I respect the organization.” Moss would go on to say.
Instead of selecting Randy Moss with the eighth pick in the 1998 draft, the Dallas Cowboys selected defensive end Greg Ellis. While hindsight is always 20/20, at the time Jerry Jones figured that Ellis was the sure pick, especially because the Cowboys in the 1990s were at their peak and figured they didn’t need another pass catcher around Michael Irvin, who had just caught 75 passes for 1,180 yards and nine touchdowns, and Billy Davis who caught 46 passes for 645 yards and four touchdowns in the season before that draft.
On top of that, the Cowboys defense’s sack leader only had six sacks that year and they wanted to bolster their defense to match their star-studded offense that also featured Emmitt Smith.
Moss also made Jones and the Cowboys pay many, many times and was always extra motivated to play the teams that overlooked him — he was drafted 21st overall by the Minnesota Vikinggs — coming out of Marshall.
Randy Moss Appreciates Jerry Jones Eating Crow
But regardless of how the draft went down, Randy Moss appreciates the gesture by Jerry Jones, and he described how much it meant to him, given that Jones is a very influential billionaire who rarely admits his mistakes, the fact that he took time out of his day to come and sincerely apologize to Moss was epic.
“I was definitely surprised by him. That man is worth so many billions of dollars, he didn’t have to do that. It just meant a lot because I had everything tied into draft day about me being a Dallas Cowboy. It put everything in perspective for me.”
Moss still ended his career as one of the greatest to ever do it with 15,292 receiving yards and 156 touchdowns. One of the fastest receivers to ever burn the turf, Moss holds the NFL single-season touchdown reception record (23 in 2007) and the NFL single-season touchdown reception record for rookies (17 in 1998).
Just as all scenarios go in sports, there is always a “what if”, and imagining one of the best receivers in the game on the most iconic sports franchise in America is definitely one for the ages.