Updated at 2 p.m.

The New England Patriots have traded wide receiver Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings for a third-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

The trade also involved the Patriots sending their seventh-round pick in 2012 to the Vikings, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Patriots Coach Bill Belichick told Moss of the trade in a phone call this morning and, according to ESPN's Chris Mortensen, the men had a cordial conversation.

"In this business, there are complex and often difficult decisions, but it is my responsibility to make them based on what I feel is best for our football team in both the short term and long term," Belichick said, in part, in a statement released by the team.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to have coached Randy Moss and aside from facing him as an opponent, I wish him the very best for the remainder of his Hall of Fame career."

The Patriots acquired Moss from Oakland in 2007 for a fourth-round pick; he originally was drafted by Minnesota with a first-round pick (21st overall) in 1998. He played for the Vikings through 2004, then played in Oakland from 2005-06. In his three-plus seasons with the Patriots, he caught 259 passes, scored 52 touchdowns in 50 games and gained 3,904 yards. The trade was first reported by Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

The writing was on the wall for Moss, who's in the final year of his contract, on Monday night, when New England crushed Miami 41-14 and he didn't have a single catch. Afterward, he explained, "It's called a gameplan," but ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss was reporting that Moss and quarterbacks coach Bill O'Brien had a heated exchange at halftime.

The Boston Herald reported that Moss requested a trade after the game. (Think Brandon Tate might get some passes thrown his way after his Monday night performance?)

The move, which comes 13 days ahead of the Oct. 19 trade deadline, gives Vikings quarterback Brett Favre the big-play receiver he's been lacking with Sidney Rice recovering from preseason hip surgery. As for the Patriots, they did the same thing with Richard Seymour last year, shipping him to Oakland for a draft pick. And they officially are now loaded for the 2011 draft (which will occur regardless of the labor situation) with, as ESPN's Adam Schefter points out, double picks in the first, second, third and fourth rounds. (In addition to their picks, they'd have Oakland's in Round 1, Carolina's in Round 2, Minnesota's in Round 3, and Denver's in Round 4.)

Um, yeah ...

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Statistical footnotes

Moss may play in 17 games this year, since the Vikings' bye was Oct. 3. (Some Twitter wags say he didn't play Monday night, but, really, he did.) ... The Vikings play the Patriots on Oct. 31 in Foxborough.

Rex Ryan reacts

Jets Coach Rex Ryan on the Moss trade: "There goes sleeping well this week." (via Newsday's Bob Glauber)

More headlines:

NFL asks Feingold campaign to stop using footage of Randy Moss, NFL players

Remember when Randy Moss left Minnesota? Kevin Seifert does.

Fox's Adam Caplan analyzes the trade.

The Patriots just don't need Randy Moss like they used to, Tony Massarotti writes.