On Dec. 16, 2024, Reed and Carter walked out for the coin toss with Minnesota's captains clad in the Winter Warrior uniform, which was debuting along with the first usage of a white helmet in franchise history.
The duo proudly hoisted a Purple No. 84 jersey in honor of Moss, who had publicly disclosed his cancer diagnosis on Instagram three days before the game.
Reed was understandably worried about and wanted to show support for his friend. He also personally was in the monitoring stage prior to his eventual surgery.
"When I walked out holding that jersey, man, I'm going to tell you, I was very emotional, for Randy, seeing my boy sick like that and fighting a battle with that cancer," Reed recalled. "A lot of times you hear the word 'cancer, you think death,' so I was very emotional holding that jersey for so many reasons, for him and for myself."
Reed, now 59, kept his diagnosis private for quite some time. He described having some "zombie" moments where he would sit and stare into an abyss. His mother passed away after a battle with breast cancer, and he did not want a similar pain for his children.
Vinita knew, but their two adult children did not learn about Reed's two-plus hour removal surgery until after it was finished.
"Once my kids found out about it, they were angry at me for not telling them because they said, 'We are not little kids anymore. We're grown adults. You got to keep us in the loop.'
"So I would tell you, don't be afraid to share with your family and friends because that's your support group, because you're going to have some lows and highs."