Moss will return to New England next season. 

Moss and Patriots agree on contract

Receiver: Pats have ‘unfinished business’

NFL. An anxious week for Patriots fans came to a happy and satisfying conclusion yesterday, as Randy Moss and the Patriots agreed on a deal that will keep the wide receiver in New England.

Details surrounding the contract were hazy, but according to multiple reports, it’s a three-year deal worth approximately $27 million, with a $12 million signing bonus. Several reports indicated Moss was offered more by at least one more team — Philadelphia — but instead chose to return to the Patriots.

“Randy was serious about wanting to stay,” Moss’ agent Tom DiPiero wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “Because of Randy’s record-breaking year, the interest in him was very high. Randy took less than he could have to rejoin his teammates.”

“What Randy did for our team last year was outstanding,” Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick said in a statement issued by the team. “He is one of our most consistent, competitive and team-oriented players and it is undoubtedly a relationship we are excited to continue.”

In 2007 — his first season with the Patriots — Moss set the NFL single-season record with 23 touchdown receptions, while catching 98 passes for 1,493 yards. Pairing him with Tom Brady, who broke the league record with 50 touchdown passes, the Patriots breezed through the regular season with a 16-0 record. They improved to an unprecedented 18-0 before blowing a chance at the league’s longest unbeaten season with a 17-14 Super Bowl loss to the Giants.

Along the way, Moss was lauded for his work ethic several times throughout the season by his teammates, who said any preconceived ideas they had about the occasionally mercurial wide receiver went out the window as the season continued.

“You never know what you’re going to get when you get a guy like that, that you hear so much about, until he becomes your teammate,” wide receiver/special teams ace Kelley Washington said of Moss midway through last season. “Until you get to know them and go to work with them every day, you don’t know what to expect until you see it. But, he’s a heck of a teammate and a real team player.”

“In my experience, he’s been a real professional guy,” Patriots tight end Kyle Brady said when asked about Moss midway through the 2007 season. “He comes to work, ready to work every day, committed to being the best he can be. The way he practices, the way he plays, the way he prepares, there’s been no complaints, by any means. He’s been great.”

When Moss, who was playing with a one-year deal, wasn’t signed at the start of free agency on Friday, many Patriots fans were worried the record-setting receiver would leave New England after just one season. But yesterday, Moss posted the following statement on his Web site, www.therealrandymoss.com: “I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New England. I’m ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of.”

In addition, the team announced they had reached an agreement with free agent wide receiver/special teamer Sam Aiken. Aiken, 27, was selected by the Bills in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft out of the University of North Carolina. Aiken has recorded 19 career receptions for 250 yards and has totaled 61 career special teams tackles.

“Competing against Sam many times over the years, we know firsthand what he brings to us,” Belichick said. “We’re glad he is a Patriot.”

Material from The Associated Press was included in this report.