Moss was born in Miami, Florida. He attended Miami Carol City Senior High, and played high school football for the Carol City Chiefs. He led the team with 25 receptions for 600 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior and amassed 450 yards on 12 kickoff returns with one return touchdown that year. Moss earned third-team all-state football honors following his senior season.
College career
Moss attended the University of Miami, and joined the Miami Hurricanes in 1997 as a walk-on, before being awarded a scholarship after the season's third game. He went on to break the Hurricanes' record (previously held by Michael Irvin) for most receiving yards (with 2,546 yards). He finished his 2000 senior season with 1,604 all-purpose yards, received first-team All-Big East Conference honors, and was recognized a consensus first-team All-American.[1] Moss also became the first player to earn Big East Offensive Player of the Year and Special Teams Player of the Year honors in the same season.
Moss is an important figure in Miami Hurricanes football history, generally considered (along with Irvin) to be one of the most accomplished wide receivers in the university's history. He graduated as the school's all-time leader in receiving yards (2,546), punt return yards (1,196), and all-purpose yards (4,394). Moss was interviewed about his time at the University of Miami for the documentary The U, which premiered December 12, 2009, on ESPN. He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
Moss was also a standout track athlete for the Miami Carol City Senior High track team. He was a two-time state champion in the triple jump and won state title in the long jump during junior season. He set a school record in the triple jump with leap of 14.81 meters.
He also ran track for the Miami Hurricanes track and field team, and was named the "Most Outstanding Field Performer" for the 2000 Big East Outdoor Track and Field championships. He won the triple jump at the 2000 Big East Championships, with a personal-best mark of 15.50 meters.[2]
Moss played a total of 51 games with the New York Jets and finished with 2,416 receiving yards, 19 touchdowns, 127 rushing yards, and 1,799 return yards.
Washington Redskins
2005 season
Following the 2004 season, Moss was acquired by the Washington Redskins in a trade with the New York Jets for Laveranues Coles. Moss signed a six-year contract with the Redskins on May 4, 2005.
Known for his big play potential, Moss started the 2005 season off with a bang in Week 2 against the Dallas Cowboys, where he caught two touchdown passes of 39 and 70 yards from Mark Brunell in the last five minutes to come from behind and beat the Cowboys 14–13.
His 2005 season with the Redskins was the best in his professional career, with 84 receptions for 1,483 yards (second highest in the NFL that year, behind only Steve Smith of the Carolina Panthers), setting a new Redskins single-season receiving record, and nine touchdowns. In 2005, Moss also was selected to his first and only NFL Pro Bowl. Moss recorded 18 rushing yards and 3 catches for 39 receiving yards at the Pro Bowl.
In the first three games of the 2006 season, he recorded an amazing 13 catches for 188 yards. On October 1, 2006, Moss exploded for a season-high 138 yards on 4 catches, hauling in two touchdowns of 55 and 8 yards, as well as a 68-yard game-winning touchdown to give Washington the victory in overtime over the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars 36–30.[6]
Due to injuries that kept him inactive much of the year and less than 100% when he did play, Moss finished the 2006 season with 790 yards and 6 touchdowns on 55 receptions.
2007 season
In the 2007 season, Moss started and played in 14 games and recorded 61 receptions, 808 receiving yards, and three touchdowns.
2008 season
In the 2008 season, Moss recorded over 1,000 receiving yards for the third time in his career.
2009 season
Starting in all 16 games in 2009, Moss recorded 70 receptions, 902 receiving yards, and three touchdowns.
2010 season
In the 2010 season, the last season of his contract with the Redskins, Moss recorded 1,115 receiving yards making this the fourth time in his career that he recorded over 1,000 receiving yards. He achieved a new career high of 93 receptions to go along with six touchdowns in the 2010 season.
2011 season
With his original contract ending, Moss re-signed with the Redskins. On July 26, the Redskins signed him to a three-year, $15 million contract that included a $5 million signing bonus.[7]
He was made offensive co-captain along with Trent Williams.[8]
In Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers, Moss suffered a broken left hand.[9]
He made his return to the field in Week 12 against the Seattle Seahawks.
In Week 14 against the New England Patriots, Moss caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from wide receiver Brandon Banks, the first passing touchdown of Banks' career.[10]
Working mostly out of the slot receiver position, Moss played and started 12 games and recorded 46 receptions, 584 receiving yards, and four touchdowns in the 2011 season.[11]
2012 season
During the preseason, it was reported that Moss lost 15 pounds to prepare for the 2012 season.[12][13] After seven consecutive seasons of being a starter for the Redskins, his responsibility was reduced to more of a third-down slot receiver due to the team's additions of Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan, who became the team's new starters.[14] In the Week 5 loss against the Atlanta Falcons, he caught a 77-yard touchdown pass from second-string quarterback, Kirk Cousins.[15] He would later score the only two touchdowns for the Redskins in the Week 7 loss against the New York Giants.[16] In the Week 11 win against the Philadelphia Eagles, Moss caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from rookie Robert Griffin III while under double coverage.It was also at this time, Moss was arguably one of, if not the best receiver in Washington Redskins history.[17][18]
Set to become a free agent for 2014, Moss re-signed on a one-year deal to remain with the Redskins on March 11, 2014.[21]
During a Redskins-Giants game on December 14, 2014, a touchdown in the closing seconds of the first half by quarterback Robert Griffin III was overturned by official Jeff Triplette after he saw that Griffin had fumbled the ball in the end zone. Moss angrily confronted Triplette and the officiating crew as they walked back to the locker room. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was assessed against Moss, and he was also ejected from the game, for which he heavily protested.[22]
Retirement
On September 1, 2022, Moss was inducted into Washington's Greatest Players list in honor of the franchise's 90th anniversary.
Many people see Santana Moss as a great receiver, a "Stud". Throughout his career, Moss had a total of 10,283 yards on 732 receptions for 66 touchdowns.[23]
Moss announced the Commanders' second round pick, number 47 overall, in the 2022 NFL Draft. The pick was Phidarian Mathis.
References
^2011 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, p. 11 (2011). Retrieved June 25, 2012.