One of the greatest wide receivers in the history of the NFL opened up about his return to his television gig after a battle against a very rare form of cancer.
Randy Moss, the former Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots star, is set to come back to ESPN after taking a leave of absence from the network as he dealt with cholangiocarcinoma – a form of bile duct cancer.
After undergoing various surgeries and treatments, Moss is set to return to the network’s show ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ and is eagerly anticipating seeing his co-workers again.
‘Man, I look forward to it. I missed my crew. Greenie [Mike Greenberg], Alex [Smith], Teddy [Bruschi],’ Moss told Michael Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show.
But Moss kept things joking and playful when addressing his other desk-mate: ‘I really didn’t miss Rex Ryan much because he got on my nerves.
‘So, Rex, if you’re hearing this, I am coming back, so scoot over,’ the Hall of Famer joked.
Randy Moss joked about his return to ESPN’s ‘Sunday NFL Countdown’ in a few weeks
Moss took a step back from his weekly duties as she dealt with a rare form of bile duct cancer
Moss added, ‘we have a great group of guys that I work with that I tremendously missed for two months and ESPN accepted me back with open arms.’
‘Man, I just can’t wait for week one to get back with the crew and talk football!’
Moss’ absence as he fought cancer was a trying experience for him – even as he received an outpouring support from his co-workers and the NFL community at large.
‘It was an emotional roller coaster, but being able to see the support from the ESPN Sunday Countdown crew, the football fans, and just people in general, man, just showing their love and respect,’ Moss told us.
‘I thank everybody for their love and their prayers. I really felt everything. I felt all of it.’
Moss added that he even hear from celebrities – like 90s music icon Montell Jordan.
Reflecting on his ordeal as a whole, Moss said, ‘Just being able to experience that was nothing I wish on any man or any human being, but for the fact that God took me through it and brought me out of it back healthy, being able to be back with my family, great support system and some great doctors around me, it was an emotional roller coaster, but the people I met along the way, I’m a blessed man, I’ll leave it at that.’
His forthcoming return to the airwaves will be the first time he’s back full-time at the network since last fall, and the first time he’ll be on-air since Super Bowl LIX.
By November, a number of fans had grown concerned about Moss before his announcement
Moss made a tearful return to ESPN at Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans months after doctors found a cancerous mass between his pancreas and liver
Back in November, a number of fans had grown concerned about Moss’ health when his eyes appeared yellow on ESPN.
That led to Moss making the shock announcement about his health a month ago, appearing on an Instagram Live video alongside his sons to tell fans he had undergone a six-hour surgery and could not walk without a cane.
Speaking about his cancer battle in December, Moss said: ‘I’ve told y’all over the last couple of weeks about me battling something internally, and ya boy is a cancer survivor.’
He then revealed: ‘I did have cancer, they found it in the bile duct, right between the pancreas and the liver, and the cancer was sitting right outside the bile duct.
‘So my doctors went in, I had six hours’ surgery, and for a lot of you guys wondering, you can Google it. I had a Whipple procedure. The best doctor in the United States, Dr [John] Martinie, I am forever grateful.’
