Randy Moss calls himself the best receiver in NFL history, upsetting Jerry Rice
Moss said Rice is "probably third or fourth" on his all-time receiver rankings.
If you ask Randy Moss who he thinks is the best receiver in NFL history, he’ll tell you that it’s him.
In an appearance on NFL legend Terrell Owens’ “Getcha Popcorn Ready” podcast, when Moss was asked to rank the greatest receivers in NFL history, he ranked the show’s host after himself. He said that Jerry Rice, who has the most receptions and receiving yards in NFL history, is “probably third or fourth.”
“I’m talking about dominating the game and changing the game of football,” Moss said, explaining his rankings. “I don’t live on statistics because if you live on statistics and live on championships that’s all political. You’ve seen guys released or cut from a team just by a couple words in the media. You’ve seen guys given contracts or you’ve seen guys not given contracts just because of the color of their skin. You’ve got to throw politics out of the game of football, and look at the impact of what each individual was able to make in the game of football.”
Statistically, Moss doesn’t have much of a claim for being the best receiver ever. One record he does have Rice beat in is most touchdown receptions in a season. Moss caught 23 touchdown passes with the Patriots in 2007, a record that still stands. It was also one of the few seasons where Moss played with such a high-caliber quarterback, marking only one of two full seasons he played with Tom Brady.
Owens seemed to agree with Moss on Rice’s ranking, saying that Rice had the fortune of catching passes from one of Joe Montana or Steve Young for most of his career.
In making the case for himself, Moss didn’t want to make it seem like he was disrespecting Rice’s accomplishments.
“I don’t want the fans and the people watching your podcast to get it messed up that we dislike or discredit anything Jerry Rice was able to do or ever accomplish,” Moss said. “I don’t want people to think myself and T.O. is slandering or bashing anything Jerry did, because Jerry was at the top.”
That didn’t end up being the case. Not long after Moss’ comments surfaced, Rice took to Instagram to respond. Rice posted a picture of him and Moss side by side, showcasing Rice’s superior career stats with a caption that read: “You just got Mossed!”
Jerry Rice with the ultimate clap back to Randy Moss on IG 👀😅 #49ers | #FTTB pic.twitter.com/799RECy8KQ
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers_) December 19, 2020
Rice has since taken down the Instagram post.
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