New Orleans Saints GM Mickey Loomis shoots down Randy Moss rumors

Rumors have been swirling about a possible return to the NFL for superstar wide receiver Randy Moss.

First Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said during an interview he would welcome Moss with open arms, fueling speculation that New England would indeed bring him back into the mix.

But the Patriots offense has evolved since releasing Moss, and now it seems the primary targets are, and will remain to be tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.

You can’t discount the value of Wes Walker either, and then there is Chad Ochocinco — Bill Belichick’s new offensive toy and “Moss replacement” on deep routes.

A return to the Patriots seems to be completely out of the equation.

Yesterday it was announced that the Saints would be without the services of top receiver Marques Colston for at least four weeks or more.

While the Saints are keeping quiet, it appears Colston broke his collar bone in the waining moments of the fourth quarter during their loss to the Packers Thursday.

Colston is invaluable to the Saints offense and an important cog in keeping the yardage, as well as the touchdowns flowing.

There is no denying that he and quarterback Drew Brees have an uncanny ability to read each others body language.

Countless times the pair have turned in jaw dropping plays down the field — evident by Colston’s 369 catches for 5,097 yards and 40 touchdowns since 2006.

Once the news broke about Colston speculation began to arise that Moss could be a potential target of the Saints to fill the void in his absence.

WWLTV.com reported today that Moss was spotted at the teams Metairie practice facility. That report has been directly challenged by Saints general manager Mickey Loomis.

"Absolutely no truth to it. It’s a made-up story. Zero to it. — Loomis on reports Randy Moss was at teams facility."

Now this path is eerily similar to when reports began to surface that the Saints were going to trade or release running back Reggie Bush.

Not only did the Saints organization deny the rumors, but so did Bush and his representation. The story is well known now — he was indeed traded to the Miami Dolphins.

What did we all learn? Never trust anyone until there is definitive proof that Moss is, or is not, joining the Saints.

His signing doesn’t makes sense with how the Saints typically do things, he is also retired from the NFL. But wait, so was Brett Favre and look how many times he came back to play.

New Orleans also has a deep group of receivers without Colston in the lineup — Lance Moore, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Adrian Arrington, and Courtney Roby.

Moore however is battling a groin injury that did keep him out against the Packers.

Moss, 34, played in 16 games for three teams — the Patriots, Vikings and Titans — last season, finishing with 28 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns.

In thirteen total seasons Moss has amassed 954  receptions, 14,858 receiving yards, and 153 touchdowns.