Report: Ray Lewis, Cris Carter Out At ESPN, With Randy Moss Added To Coverage
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Some of the most recognizable faces will no longer be seen on ESPN's coverage of the NFL.
On the day that ESPN announced that Sean McDonough will replace Mike Tirico as the play-by-play man for Monday Night Football, it was reported by The Big Lead that analysts Ray Lewis and Cris Carter will no longer work at the network.
TBL also reported that Randy Moss, formerly of Fox Sports, will be joining ESPN.
It's been a time of great change at ESPN, with reports surfacing last week that Trent Dilfer will be leaving the network as well.
Both Lewis and Carter found themselves at the center of some controversy in recent years. Last summer, video emerged of Carter telling new NFL players at a rookie symposium to always have a "fall guy" in their crew in order to stay out of jail. And in January, Carter gently accused Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones of smoking angel dust despite not having any evidence or sources telling him that information.
Lewis didn't exactly have a sterling reputation before arriving at ESPN, though his time there has been marked by several conflicts of interest. Lewis caught some flak for delivering a pregame pump-up speech to the Bills the night before they played the Patriots, and then the network later looked bad when it went to great lengths to help Lewis promote his book. During that promotion, Lewis was allowed to shape the story of the night in Atlanta that led to murder charges being brought against him. The hosts' lack of pushback on the building of the narrative certainly didn't reflect well on the network's ability to objectively handle such a subject.
Moss, meanwhile, has been somewhat of a rising star in the world of sports media. That's something that few could have predicted during his playing career, when he was not always the most jovial person when cameras and microphones were around, but he's really excelled in his time with Fox Sports.
From a New England standpoint, the addition of Moss is sure to appease some fans who have felt the network has carried a noticeable anti-Patriots slant in recent years.
Matt Hasselback and Charles Woodson will also be joining ESPN's coverage, according to The Big Lead.