On Its Surface, This Trade Seems Weird.

Apparently Randy Moss has received his ticket out of Oakland, and he's headed to....New England?!?

Yes, that's right. Apparently the Hobo Genius has decided to take on the outspoken/troubled/what-have-you receiver for a fourth round pick, but not without some obvious changes, both financial and otherwise. Moss will renegotiate his contract to fit with the Patriots' priorities, but there is this paragraph:

Far more important to coach Bill Belichick than any financial concessions by Moss, though, are the promises by the nine-year veteran receiver that he will fit into the Patriots' culture, an atmosphere in which players are expected to subjugate personal performance for team goals. Moss has long been one of Belichick's favorite players, in part because of his competitive nature and desire to step to the forefront at critical junctures of games, but the Pats' coach would not have made the deal without being comfortable that it is a good fit for everyone.

Apparently the rest of the front office (GM Scott Pioli) and locker room (Tom Brady, probably Tedy Bruschi and Richard Seymour) leaders have signed off on this, and that there will be enough leadership in the locker room to mitigate any sort of "threat" Moss poses to team chemistry, if his word isn't good.

My judgment is that most of Moss' on-the-field shortcomings have come because he's played for organizations that aren't as stringent, structured, and disciplined as the Patriots (also mediocre organizations) -- where there aren't really any organizational (rather than PR) consequences for admitting that you slack off, etc. However, he can't fuck around on the Hobo. It's a good trade for a fourth-round pick. Moss is not T.O., not by a long shot, and the Hobo has had players before that had reps as malcontents (see Dillon, Corey.)