National Football League

Titans claim Moss off waivers

Published Nov. 3, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

Veteran wide receiver Randy Moss has apparently found a new NFL home for the third time in four weeks.

Moss, 33, was claimed off waivers Wednesday by the Tennessee Titans from the Minnesota Vikings, according to various reports. The Vikings waived Moss earlier this week.

The Titans will inherit the rest of the prorated $6.4 million base salary for 2010, which comes to roughly $3.4 million. Based on the revision to his contract that the Vikings agreed to at the time of the trade with the New England Patriots on Oct. 6, the Titans will not be able to place their franchise or transition tag on Moss for next season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Personnel sources said that one deterrent from claiming Moss was his high base salary for the rest of the season.

"We are always looking for ways to improve our roster. Randy is obviously a Hall of Fame player and has the ability to be a difference maker for our offense," general manager Mike Reinfeldt said in a statement.

But paying Moss is the least of Tennessee’s worries. Having combat pay for the coaches might be necessary.

It's not a secret that Moss had issues with New England’s coaching staff before he was traded. And the fact that Minnesota head coach Brad Childress, who has final say on personnel decisions, gave up a third-round pick for Moss then traded him less than four weeks later says a lot about the mercurial receiver. But Tennessee has a strong coaching staff led by head coach Jeff Fisher. It’s not like he hasn’t dealt with a strong personality in the past: see Albert Haynesworth.

"We had an opportunity to upgrade our offense and Randy has been a tremendous threat where ever he has been," Fisher said in a statement. "We will bring him up to speed as quickly as possible."

But is Moss willing to set a good example for his teammates? What kind of leadership skills could he provide?

As FOXSports.com's Jay Glazer reported, Moss tutored young wide receiver Percy Harvin during his time with the Vikings. Is Moss willing to take the same approach with Tennessee’s young receivers such as Kenny Britt and Damian Williams? All that remains to be seen.

And finally, does he have anything left? Surely the Titans watched his game tape, so they must think he can help them. And he’ll be expected to play right away since Britt could miss several weeks with a hamstring injury and veteran wide receiver Justin Gage has missed the past two games with a hamstring injury.

Tennessee is on their bye in Week 9, but we won’t have to wait long to see how he fits in before playing at Miami on Nov. 14.

The Titans passed on Moss in the 1998 NFL draft, choosing instead to take Kevin Dyson. But Moss can help a team that has not won a playoff game since January 2004.

The receiver going to his third team this season will be welcomed, at least initially. Safety Michael Griffin tweeted ''welcome Randy Moss'' and All-Pro running back Chris Johnson had been lobbying for the Titans to pick up Moss as well.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.