What’s weirder than seeing some NFL players don a different uniform? Seeing them back in their original uniform after some time away.
Some NFL players are synonymous with their respective franchises.
Despite that, it’s rare for players to play their entire NFL careers with the same team. Even the great Tom Brady didn’t play his entire career with the New England Patriots.
Peyton Manning didn’t play his whole career with the Colts.
Russell Wilson won’t play his whole career with the Seahawks.
Weird stuff happens.
But what’s weirder than seeing those types of players in different NFL cities? Seeing them come back.
In recent NFL history, there are a handful of bizarre examples of players that have had unexpected reunions with their original teams. Not all of them are NFL legends, but some of these situations are fun to look back on.
Strange NFL reunion no. 6: Randy Moss to the Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings drafted Randy Moss in the vaunted 1998 NFL Draft, and he became an instant superstar in the NFL.
In his first seven NFL seasons, all with the Vikings, Moss averaged over 1,300 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns a year.
He was one of the most dynamic superstar receivers in the entire NFL and then in the 2005 offseason, he was traded to the Raiders.
By the end of his second season with the Raiders, the trade was looking like an absolute bust from Oakland’s point of view. They did not get the same Randy Moss we had seen in Minneapolis, the one that dominated the late 90s and early 2000s.
So, the Raiders shipped him off to New England in 2007 for a fourth-round pick.
That trade will go down as arguably the best in history as the Patriots got better than the Minnesota version of Randy Moss.
He racked up 23 touchdowns in his first season as a Patriot and wound up scoring 50 touchdowns in New England as a whole in just over three seasons.
During the 2010 season, the Patriots traded Moss back to his original team, the Minnesota Vikings, for a third-round pick.
Wouldn’t you know it? In his first game back for the Vikings, he caught four passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.
He appeared in just four games for Minnesota in that 2010 season before an eight-game stint with the Titans. He then came out of retirement in 2012 to play an entire season with the San Francisco 49ers, helping them reach the Super Bowl.