Justin Jefferson, Vikings pay tribute to Randy Moss amid cancer battle

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  • Kevin Seifert, ESPN staff writerDecember 17, 2024, 1:25 a.m. ET

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      Kevin Seifert is a staff writer covering the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL on ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Washington Times. He graduated from the University of Virginia. You can follow him on Twitter @SeifertESPN.

MINNEAPOLIS — In a private moment last week, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson sent a text to one of his heroes. Jefferson had heard that Hall of Fame inductee Randy Moss was being treated for cancer, and he wanted to wish him luck.

A few days later he published this tribute. Jefferson gave Moss a shoutout Monday night after catching a 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of the Vikings’ 30-12 win over the Chicago Bears, looking into the ESPN camera and yelling, “We love you Randy . It’s for you.”

After the game, Jefferson spoke in heartfelt tones in the Vikings locker room.

“I’m thankful for what he’s done for this game,” Jefferson said while wearing a purple replica Moss jersey, “and what he’s done for me as a kid. Just watching him and being a fan of him . must always show him love.”

Moss announced Friday that he underwent a six-hour operation to remove a cancerous mass from his bile duct after he previously had a stent placed in his liver. He said he was hospitalized for six days and would undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatment while taking a leave of absence from his role as an analyst on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.”

The Vikings opened Monday night’s game by sending two of Moss’ former teammates, Cris Carter and Jake Reed, to midfield as honorary captains during the coin toss. Each held one side of a Moss jersey, prompting him to do so reply via X: “LIVE ALL OF YOU.”

“It was great to see those guys,” Jefferson said. “It’s the guys before us. It’s the big three before me, (Jalen Nailor) and (Jordan Addison) came in. … They were brothers when they played and still are. It’s amazing to see the amount of ​​love they still have for each other.”

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who was Moss’ teammate in 2008 when both were with the New England Patriots, said the Vikings met internally last week to decide how to honor him.

“You could feel the love for him in the building tonight,” O’Connell said. ‘is behind him every step of the way. Hold him, love him. Hopefully he watched, and if it gave him any joy at all, it was worth it, because that’s how we feel about him.”