Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Randy Moss was given the honor of presenting a very apt award as the former wide receiver continues a major health battle.
Moss appeared via video call at the NFL Honors on Thursday evening – the annual award show which commemorates the best players in the league.
Months after he revealed that he was battling bile duct cancer, Moss was tasked with handing out the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award.
The award is handed out to athletes who have demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity – be it injuries, illness, or other circumstances that led to missing playing time the season prior.
Moss, who was named the Pro Football Writers Association Comeback Player of the Year in 2007, presented the award in a pre-recorded message.
‘Good evening everybody. How y’all doing? It is great to talk to you tonight,’ Moss began.
Pro Football Hall-of-Fame wide receiver Randy Moss made a surprise video appearance at the NFL Honors to present the award for Comeback Player of the Year
The award was given out to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow for a second time
‘I’m sorry I could not be there in person to join you all, but I want to send a special thank you to all of my doctors, my beautiful wife, my children, my family, my teammates, and all the prayer warriors out there.
‘We are facing cancer and I cannot wait to get back on television with all my guys. But tonight, I am thrilled to present an award that I was honored to win myself back in 2007 with the New England Patriots. 23 touchdowns.
‘There’s no better story in the National Football League than the one about a player who does big things, overcome adversity and face obstacles, but ultimately find their way back to the mountaintop.’
After Moss’ opening statement, he presented the five nominees for the award: Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, Los Angeles Chargers running back JK Dobbins, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, and New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Moss then unveiled that the winner of the award was Joe Burrow – his second time winning this honor.
In his acceptance speech, Burrow joked, ‘I wouldn’t say this is necessarily an award you want to be nominated for two times.
‘But you know, I’m proud of the work that I’ve put to come back from these injuries that I seem to face every year. Fortunately, I’m healthy this year.
‘You know, I have a great team around me. My physical therapist Nick, all of our trainers at the Bengals, my trainer back in the offseason. We put together a great plan to help me go out and play my best on Sundays and come back from these injuries stronger. So thanks guys. It’s an honor, my man. Thank you.’
In November, fans were concerned for Moss as they saw his eyes appearing yellow on TV
Randy Moss told fans he is battling cancer in an emotional Instagram Live video in December
Back in November, a number of fans had grown concerned about Moss’ health when his eyes appeared yellow on ESPN.
That led to Moss making the shock announcement about his health a month ago, appearing on an Instagram Live video alongside his sons to tell fans he had undergone a six-hour surgery and could not walk without a cane.
Speaking about his cancer battle in December, Moss said: ‘I’ve told y’all over the last couple of weeks about me battling something internally, and ya boy is a cancer survivor.’
He then revealed: ‘I did have cancer, they found it in the bile duct, right between the pancreas and the liver, and the cancer was sitting right outside the bile duct.
‘So my doctors went in, I had six hours’ surgery, and for a lot of you guys wondering, you can Google it. I had a Whipple procedure. The best doctor in the United States, Dr [John] Martinie, I am forever grateful.’
