Moss Return?

WR Randy Moss with QB Tom Brady during the 2007 season.

WR Randy Moss announced on his 35th birthday that he would be returning to the NFL for the 2012 season, setting off a number of opinions on where he can potentially land. Moss stated that he took this past year off of football because he had personal matters to tend to. Now that those personal matters are apparently handled, Moss plans on latching on with a team and continue his Hall-of-Fame career.

The big question now is who will actually sign Moss. WR Terrell Owens also expressed his desire to sign with a team this past season after recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in the offseason. Owens was not signed by an NFL team, instead taking his act to an indoor football league for $500k. It's no secret that Owens now has financial problems, so he'll most likely continue to pursue an NFL career.

It doesn't appear that Moss has financial problems, but which team is going to take a receiver up in age who has a history of shutting it down at certain moments? Also, this offseason is loaded with quality free agent wide receivers who can come in and produce right away. Those names include WR Vincent Jackson, WR Desean Jackson, WR Dwayne Bowe, WR Marques Colston, WR Steve Johnson and WR Mario Manningham.

Reggie Wayne is a veteran wide receiver who is also available on the free agent market who comes with no baggage. In the 2010 season, Moss played with the New England Patriots, Minnesota Vikings, and the Tennessee Titans. His production in all three stops were awful, which included being released outright by the Vikings for an alleged incident at practice with a restaurant owner. There were times when Moss wasn't even on the field ahead of the three or four receivers on the depth chart for the Titans.

Owens will most likely not be able to play with another team, and I see the same occurring for Moss. He has burned so many bridges in his career by shutting it down whenever he felt like doing so. WR Hines Ward is also rumored to be cut soon by the Pittsburgh Steelers, so he is another veteran receiver without any baggage teams will certainly be interested in.

Moss will also need a solid quarterback to play with to keep his production at a satisfactory level. Moss is not the same player he once was, and when given an average or bad quarterback, he hasn't produced at all. It is plausible that the Patriots can bring him back, since Josh McDaniels is returning to become their offensive coordinator again. However, at this point, the Patriots are the only logical choice for his career.