Published October 6, 2010

Then-Minnesota Vikings receiver Randy Moss pretends to "moon" the crowd after catching a 34-yard touchdown pass in an away game against the Green Bay Packers in 2005. (AP)

Unless you were on Twitter last night, you likely woke up today shocked to learn that Patriots star receiver Randy Moss would be traded to the Minnesota Vikings, reportedly for a 3rd round pick.

Most Patriots fans knew that Moss was unhappy that he hadn’t been offered a contract extension by the team, but very few knew that a trade was in the works.

The only New Englander who had caught a whiff of trade action, it seems, is a transplant living on the West Coast. Bill Simmons, ESPN columnist and No. 1 Boston sports fan, had heard rumors and was checking in to them. As a columnist — not a reporter — Simmons isn’t known for working the phones to check on a story.

Not only did Simmons attempt to dig for details, he also mistakenly let his over 1 million Twitter followers in on the hunt.

At around 7:15 Tuesday night, Simmons sent out a tweet (since deleted) that roughly read, “Moss Vikings.” Three minutes later, Simmons (@sportsguy33) immediately followed up his original tweet with a message that read:

@sportsguy33 Sorry that last tweet was supposed to be a DM. Rumors swirling about a Pats-Minny trade for Randy Moss.

Simmons had meant to write a “direct message” — a message only viewable by a specific person and akin to a Twitter e-mail. Instead, Simmons had mistakenly sent his first message to the entire world.

Thanks to Simmons’ popularity and proximity to ESPN’s stable of reporters, the Twitterverse exploded with speculation immediately after Simmons’ original, mistaken, tweet.

Only 13 minutes later, NBC Sports-affiliated blog Pro Football Talk posted a short post titled “Unintended tweet sparks rumors of Moss-to-Minny move.” Mike Florio, the post’s author and main contributor to the site, ended it with “Let the chase begin.”

Veteran NFL reporter Jay Glazer picked up the scent and before 8 p.m. reported via Twitter:

@Jay_Glazer Yes, vikes and pats have been working on trade that sends randy moss to vikes and r very clode (sic) but can’t be done until vikes and moss work out new contract, whcih (sic) they r working on

At 7:58, New England Cable News reported that there was, in fact, no trade in the works. By then, however, most NFL reporters were feverishly trying to get the facts and Twitter users all over the country had a headache.

As we now know, the deal was real and Simmons was right. The Herald’s Ian R. Rappaport reported via Twitter that the Patriots have made the trade official and head coach Bill Belichick even released a rare statement wishing Moss well.

The speculation surrounding the Randy Moss trade perfectly illustrates today’s media landscape. Access to Twitter spurred reporters to cover a breaking story, allowed them to report anything they were able to dig up and inform fans in real time. It also served as a venue for wild speculation, the reportage of false information and lots of questions.

How will the Pats fare without Moss? Have your say in the comments.