Hall of famer Randy Moss made an emotional return to ESPN’s coverage of the Super Bowl on Sunday, two months after he took leave from his job to undergo cancer treatment.
Moss was back on ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. He was greeted with a video that included messages from Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Justin Jefferson, Kevin Garnett and Jerry Rice welcoming him back to ESPN’s set.
Moss was moved to tears by the video before settling down to preview Sunday’s game.
“Guys it’s been hard, but I got a lot of love and a lot of people believing in me,” he said. “I’m happy to be here.”
Moss took a leave of absence from ESPN in early December after undergoing surgery for cancer. He said at the time that a cancerous mass was found in his bile duct, between his pancreas and liver. He said he had surgery to put a stent in his liver on Thanksgiving and later had a six-hour procedure to remove the cancer. He also said he would undergo radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Moss has been a fixture on the ESPN show since 2016. Moss, who turns 48 on Thursday, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018 after playing 14 seasons with the Vikings, Raiders Patriots, Titans and 49ers. He ranks second in NFL history with 156 touchdown catches and fourth with 15,292 yards receiving, He set an NFL record with 23 TD receptions in 2007 for the Patriots.