Zulgad’s four-and-out: Vikings’ to-do list should include retiring Randy Moss’ number and a statue for Bud
Earlier this week, four-and-out provided thoughts on whether now former Vikings Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks and Dalvin Cook had a chance to go into the team’s Ring of Honor one day. It also was pointed out that it’s long overdue for wide receiver Anthony Carter to be inducted.
This has led to what other Vikings-related omissions should be addressed. For instance, who deserves to have his number retired and who is the biggest omission from the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
Here are some answers.
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Zulgad's four-and-out: Will Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks and Dalvin Cook all make Vikings' Ring of Honor?
Randy Moss' No. 84 needs to be retired
Josh Oliver became the latest Vikings player to be issued the No. 84 after he signed as a free agent in March. Aundrae Allison was issued that number in 2007, following Moss’ first departure in a 2005 trade to Oakland. Since Moss’ second stint in 2010 came to an abrupt end, the number has gone to Michael Jenkins, Cordarrelle Patterson, Irv Smith Jr. and now Oliver.
That just isn’t right.
Moss, who was inducted into the Vikings’ Ring of Honor in 2017 and the Pro Football of Fame the next year, deserves to have his 84 included with the other six Vikings who have had their numbers retired. The list: Fran Tarkenton, No. 10; Mick Tingelhoff, 53; Jim Marshall, 70; Korey Stringer, 77; Cris Carter, 80; and Alan Page, 88.
NFL teams are hesitant to retire too many numbers because they need them in circulation given roster sizes. But Moss, who played for the Vikings from 1998 to 2004 and again in 2010, is a special case considering his impact on the franchise. It’s also worth noting the Bears and Giants have retired an NFL-high 14 numbers apiece.
Moss’ impact went beyond the Vikings. He was among the wide receivers who helped to change the game and get the NFL to where it is now in terms of offense and passing. He is fourth on the NFL’s all-time receiving list with 15,292 yards and second with 156 touchdown receptions.
Moss is second to Carter on the Vikings for all-time receptions (587), receiving yards (9,316) and touchdowns (92). Carter, however, was a member of the franchise from 1990 to 2001 and played in 75 more games.
Moss’ arrival in Minnesota as the 21st pick in the 1998 draft was followed by a 15-1 regular season in which he caught an NFL-leading 17 touchdowns and earned Associated Press Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
The team’s season ended with an upset loss to Atlanta in the NFC title game, but many (now) longtime Vikings fans began following the team that season in large part because of Moss’ ability to stretch the field and make cornerbacks look silly.
It seems silly that Moss’ No. 84 remains in circulation.
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Jim Marshall belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Vikings have 13 former players, as well as a former executive (Jim Finks) and coach (Bud Grant) in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the folks in Canton, Ohio, are missing at least one deserving ex-Viking.
Defensive end Jim Marshall, whose number was retired in 1999, was the definition of an ironman during a playing career that began in Cleveland in 1960 and then stretched from 1961 to ’79 with the Vikings. His streak of 282 consecutive games started stood as an NFL record until it was broken by then-Viking Brett Favre in 2009.
Although sacks weren’t an official statistic until 1982, Pro Football Reference has reviewed data to obtain sack numbers on players such as Marshall. An original member of the Vikings’ feared Purple People Eaters defensive line, Marshall’s 128 sacks are second only to the 130.5 credited to his former teammate Carl Eller.
Marshall started in four Super Bowls — all Vikings’ losses — and is second all-time among NFL defensive players with 30 fumble recoveries. Marshall is known for his 1964 miscue when he retired a fumble 66 yards in the wrong direction in San Francisco, but that single mistake can’t possibly overshadow the fact he was a Hall of Fame player.
Marshall was snubbed again last July when the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s seniors committee left him of the list of 12 finalists for the Class of 2023. That was a baffling snub.
He has been eligible for the Hall since 1985 and, at the age of 85, long ago deserved to have his Hall of Fame bust sitting beside Eller and Alan Page in Canton.
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Bud Grant deserves a statue at U.S. Bank Stadium
Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant passed away on March 11 at the age of 95. A public service was held to honor him in late May at U.S. Bank Stadium. The tributes shouldn’t end there.
Grant is deserving of a statue outside — Grant wouldn’t want it inside — the building the Vikings call home in downtown Minneapolis. He went 168-108-5 as the Vikings’ head coach from 1967 to ’83 and again in ’85 and led the team to four Super Bowls.
He was a Minnesota sports legend beyond football, also playing basketball and baseball for the University of Minnesota Gophers and two seasons with the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBA.
Grant has been honored with a statue, but not in Minnesota. He coached the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Canadian Football League from 1957 to ’66 and won four Grey Cup championships.
In 2014, a bronze statue of Grant was unveiled outside the Winnipeg stadium. Hopefully, the Vikings now will follow that lead.
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Not to get greedy, but what about retiring Carl Eller's number?
This probably isn’t going to happen, considering he has been retired from the NFL since 1979, but there is a case to be made that the Vikings also should take Carl Eller’s No. 81 out of circulation.
Eller, as mentioned above, is atop the Vikings’ all-time sacks record, according to research by Pro Football Reference. Eller, who is now the same age as the number he wore, played for the Vikings from 1964 to 1978.
He was named an All-Pro five times and was in six Pro Bowls. He also started at left defensive end in all four of the Vikings’ Super Bowl appearances.
Eller finished his career by playing a single season with Seattle in 1978 and went into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2004. What’s interesting is that Marshall’s number is retired and Eller’s isn’t, yet Eller is in Canton and Marshall isn’t.
Of course, if Eller was to have his number retired, many would wonder why the same wasn’t done for John Randle (No. 93), Randall McDaniel (No. 64) and Paul Krause (No. 22).
That’s why if there is going to be a seventh Viking to have his jersey retired, it almost certainly has to be Randy Moss.
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