ESPN analyst Randy Moss on field before Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs New York Giants game at Raymond James Stadium
Randy Moss in Tampa, FL on Nov. 22, 2021.
Rnady Moss will return to his full-time role at ESPN after taking a two-month leave last season following his cancer diagnosis
ESPN said the news of Moss' return to their network "has been the highlight of the offseason" in a statement to The Athletic
Moss revealed his cancer diagnosis in December and returned to the show on Super Bowl Sunday
Randy Moss is set to return to his full-time role on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown after his cancer diagnosis forced him to sit out the last two months last season.
ESPN confirmed to The Athletic in a report published on Tuesday, July 1 that Moss, 48, will return to the show next season. In December, the Hall-of-Famer took time away to "address a personal health challenge."
Emotions were high when Moss returned to the show for the Super Bowl and received a powerful video message from longtime friends, including Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Kevin Garnett, among others.
In a statement to The Athletic confirming Moss' return next season, ESPN said, "Randy's return on Super Bowl Sunday was an emotional lift — not just for our team but for the entire football community — and knowing he will resume his full Sunday NFL Countdown schedule, beginning in Week 1, has been the highlight of the offseason."
Randy Moss reacts prior to the NFC Wild Card between the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium on January 17, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Randy Moss reacts prior to the NFC Wild Card between the Los Angeles Rams and the Arizona Cardinals at SoFi Stadium on January 17, 2022 in Inglewood, California.
Moss broke down in tears after the video messages to him played on Super Bowl Sunday. "You already know it's the big cry baby here, man," Moss said of himself after the two-minute tribute. "Y'all, I couldn't do it alone," he added.
Speaking to his ESPN colleagues, Moss said, "Hey guys, it's been hard but I got a lot of love and a lot of people believe in me, man. So I'm happy to be here."
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Moss initially revealed that he was “battling something internally” in an Instagram video shared in December. Just days later, ESPN announced that he would be stepping away from his role as co-host of Sunday NFL Countdown.
Making headlines for wearing sunglasses during the pregame broadcast, Moss told viewers that he has "some great doctors around" him and that he feels "great," but added, "if y'all see me with these Michigan turnover glasses that I have on, it's not being disrespectful because I'm on television. Man, I'm battling something, I need all the prayer warriors."
The former wide receiver then explained in a Dec. 13 Instagram Live that he learned he had cancer after noticing his urine was discolored. "They found it in the bile duct right between the pancreas and the liver, and that the cancer was sitting right outside the bile duct," he said at the time.
He later underwent a Whipple procedure and shared that he would also proceed with radiation and chemotherapy. Moss described it as "a trying week, a trying time."