Both the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens are in New Orleans. ESPN officially touched down on Monday and this show is officially on the road. All of the NFL majors are in the Big Easy right now, including the league insiders.
On Monday, it was reported that wide receiver Randy Moss could potentially be returning next season. NFL insider Adam Schefter relayed a report from ProFootballTalk, that Moss could be leaning toward a return in 2013.
He would like to play another season, and Pro Football Talk alluded to this, but people last week had been saying it. It goes back weeks. Randy Moss has enjoyed playing with the 49ers, they've enjoyed having him. They have viewed him as a leader of men, an example for some of the young players in the league. So they would like to have him back for another season, he would like to play another season. All signs point to Moss being back in San Francisco for one more year.
John Clayton added:
I think he will [come back] because he understands where he is. Now, he could retire. If the 49ers win, it wouldn't surprise me if he ends his career. But I think when you look at what Moss has done compared to say Plaxico Burress when he went to the Jets -- the mistake the Jets made was they played him 74 percent of the snaps. When you look at Moss, he's playing 26 percent of the snaps, and at his age, a role player that's still very effective. He still has speed, he still has the ability to go up and catch passes in the end zone. And I think if he could just continue to accept that role, he could maybe go on another year or two because this team is still going to be good next year. So as long as he doesn't want to go some place, go to a worse team and try to get a little more money, I think he's back.
Jim Harbaugh had openly stated that he would ask Moss back for another year. They both came to an understanding on what they would like out of one another and it couldn't have worked out better. Moss has been a mentor in the same year that Michael Crabtree had his best season as a pro.
Moreover, with A.J. Jenkins already under the microscope, he will be entering a pretty pivotal offseason. Jenkins needs to put together a very strong offseason in order to properly transition from year one to year two. If Moss were to continue his role with the team, it could be very beneficial for the youngster.
And barring any setbacks, the 49ers will get Mario Manningham and Kyle Williams back -- both of whom could potentially explode with Colin Kaepernick next year.