MINNEAPOLIS — In a private moment last week, Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson sent a text message to one of his heroes. Jefferson had heard that Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss was being treated for cancer, and he wanted to wish him good luck.

A few days later, he made that tribute public. Jefferson gave Moss a shoutout Monday night after catching a 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter of the Vikings’ 30-12 victory over the Chicago Bears, looking into the ESPN camera and shouting: “We love you, Randy. That’s for you.”

After the game, Jefferson spoke in heartfelt tones in the Vikings’ locker room.

“I’m grateful for what he has done for this game,” Jefferson said while wearing a purple replica Moss jersey, “and what he has done for me as a kid. Just watching him and being a fan of him, I’ve always got to show love to him.”

Moss announced Friday that he had undergone a six-hour surgery to remove a cancerous mass from his bile duct, after earlier having a stent placed in his liver. He said he was hospitalized for six days and would be undergoing radiation and chemotherapy treatment while taking a leave from his role as an analyst on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown.”

The Vikings opened Monday night’s game by sending two of Moss’ former teammates, Cris Carter and Jake Reed, to midfield as honorary captains during the coin toss. Each held one side of a Moss jersey, prompting him to respond via X: “LUV U ALL.”

LUV U ALL!#letsmosscancer https://t.co/925w4LJhNN

— Randy Moss (@RandyMoss) December 17, 2024

“It was amazing seeing those guys,” Jefferson said. “Those are the guys before us. Those are the big three before me, [Jalen Nailor] and [Jordan Addison] came in. … They were brothers when they were playing and still are. It’s great to see the amount of love they still have for each other.”

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, who was Moss’ teammate in 2008 when both were with the New England Patriots, said the Vikings met internally last week to decide how to honor him.

“You could feel the love for him in the building tonight,” O’Connell said “He means the world to this organization. His name is up in the rafters in the Ring of Honor, He’s a Hall of Famer … and we’re behind him every step of the way. Care about him, love him. We just wanted to do whatever we could with the platform of ‘Monday Night Football.’ Hopefully, he was watching and if it gave him any joy at all, it was well worth it because that’s how we feel about him.”