New England trades Randy Moss to Minnesota for third-round draft pick

The New England Patriots traded seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings on Wednesday for a third-round draft pick.

“He is a tremendous competitor and was an integral member of the Vikings organization,” Vikings Coach Brad Childress said in a statement. “Once again, ownership was completely supportive of our efforts to add a valuable football player to our team. I know the entire organization is thrilled to welcome him back to the Twin Cities.”

The Vikings play at the New York Jets on Monday night, and they are only 3 1/2 weeks away from an Oct. 31 game at Foxborough, Mass., against the Patriots.

“In this business, there are complex and often difficult decisions, but it is my responsibility to make them based on what I feel is best for our football team, in both the short term and long term,” Patriots Coach Bill Belichick said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have coached Randy Moss, and aside from facing him as an opponent, I wish him the very best for the remainder of his Hall of Fame career.”

Moss will go from catching passes from Tom Brady in New England to hauling in Brett Favre’s throws with the Vikings.

“This is an exciting move, I think everybody feels that in the locker room,” Favre said on the team’s website. “It’s rare you get to play with a future Hall of Famer and get to appreciate their talents up close. Randy Moss is a great player and his career speaks for itself. I’ve admired him from a distance for a long time and you can’t help but be impressed by the guy.”

Moss was a first-round pick of the Vikings in 1998 and spent his first seven seasons in Minnesota. He was traded to Oakland in 2005, where he languished for two years before being revitalized in New England.

Moss is in the final season of a three-year, $27-million contract and has said several times that he expected 2010 to be his last season with the Patriots. He did not have a catch in a 41-14 win over Miami on Monday night.

“When you have done so much and put so much work in, it kind of feels like I am not wanted,” Moss said in September. “I am taking that in stride and playing my final year out and whatever the future holds is what it holds, but it is kind of a bad feeling — feeling not wanted.”

Hall will start for Cardinals

Rookie Max Hall will start at quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals against the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints on Sunday.

Coach Ken Whisenhunt decided to go with the undrafted former Brigham Young standout after Derek Anderson struggled through his four starts. Anderson got the job over Matt Leinart during the preseason. Leinart was released before the regular season began and has signed with Houston.

Anderson, signed by Arizona as a free agent after he was released by Cleveland, was benched in favor of Hall after throwing two first-half interceptions in last Sunday’s 41-10 loss at San Diego. Hall completed eight of 14 passes for 82 yards without an interception but was sacked six times.

Portis out four to six weeks with groin injury

Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks because of a groin injury.

Coach Mike Shanahan said Portis has a third degree separation of the left groin muscle. Portis was injured in Sunday’s 17-12 win over Philadelphia.

Portis has run for 195 yards in 49 carries this season.

Ryan Torain, promoted from the practice squad two weeks ago, takes over as the starting running back. Torain ran 18 times for 70 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles.

Peppers disappointed in Panthers

Julius Peppers describes his off-season departure from Carolina as “sour,” claiming the Panthers tried to paint him in a bad light after deciding not to re-sign him.

In a conference call with reporters ahead of Peppers’ return to Charlotte on Sunday with the Chicago Bears, Peppers said he understood that the Panthers decided to “do away with anybody who is making a significant amount of money.”

But the franchise’s all-time sacks leader said the Panthers tried to make it look like he wanted out of Carolina, and claims the team never called him directly with the news they were going to let him leave in free agency. “They couldn’t even give me that,” Peppers said.

Cutler practices

Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was back practicing after leaving last week’s game against the New York Giants because of a concussion.

Cutler was in uniform and participating in passing drills in the early portion of practice that was open to reporters. His status for this week’s game at Carolina was unclear.

Etc.

The Buffalo Bills promoted rookie running back Andre Anderson from their practice squad and said Fred Jackson would start at running back against Jacksonville on Sunday. … Saints cornerback Tracy Porter had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and is expected to be sidelined three to four weeks. … According to Nielsen, more than 150 million people have watched at least part of an NFL game this season, the highest number for the first four weeks of any season. … Wide receiver Santonio Holmes is practicing with the New York Jets for the first time since being suspended four games by the NFL for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Holmes is expected to make his regular-season debut for the Jets on Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings. … Cleveland Browns rookie safety T.J. Ward was fined $15,000 by the NFL for his hard hit on Cincinnati wide receiver Jordan Shipley. … The Cleveland Browns acquired defensive end Jayme Mitchell from the Minnesota Vikings for an undisclosed 2012 draft pick. … Detroit Lions Coach Jim Schwartz said quarterback Matthew Stafford is still not healthy enough to play and that Shaun Hill will start Sunday for the winless Lions at home against the St. Louis Rams. … Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing practiced with the team for the first time since the end of his four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy on banned substances. … Oakland Raiders defensive tackle John Henderson could be sidelined for more than a month because of a stress fracture in his right foot.