Former Patriot Randy Moss stepping away from ESPN duties amid health battle

Former New England Patriot Randy Moss is taking a break from his duties as an analyst at ESPN to focus on an ongoing medical issue.

The NFL Hall of Famer announced in December that he was dealing with a health issue and asked fans to pray for him and his family.

ESPN did not give a timeframe for when Moss may return but threw their support behind the long-time NFL Sunday Countdown analyst.

“For nearly a decade, Randy has been an invaluable member of the team, consistently elevating Countdown with his insight and passion,” ESPN said in a statement Friday. “He has ESPN’s full support, and we look forward to welcoming him back when he is ready.”

The 47-year-old ESPN football analyst made the announcement from the set of the network’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” show last Sunday. He directed his message to men and urged them to get checkups and bloodwork done, without specifying for any particular illness.

“I just ask for all the prayer warriors to put their blessing hands on me and my family through these hard times. People were talking about my eyes last week,” Moss said before putting on a pair of sunglasses. “I’m battling something, man, and it’s something internal, your boy is going to get through it. I got a great team of doctors and got a great family around me.”

Moss played 14 seasons for the Minnesota Vikings, Oakland Raiders, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and San Francisco 49ers. He ranks second to Jerry Rice with 156 touchdown catches and had 982 catches for 15,292 yards.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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