San Jose, Calif. ? Tonight is an anticlimatic homecoming for Randy Moss.

Traded by the Vikings for all his naughty transgressions, he returns to Minnesota not even in the running for the NFL’s bad boy receiver title. In fact, Moss – sure to be vilified at the Metrodome – isn’t in the running for his own team’s bad boy receiver title.

The Raiders’ honor goes to disgruntled, whining Jerry Porter, who may play Monday night. And if he does he had better play darn well if he wants to (a) be traded or (b) earn his way out of Art Shell’s doghouse.

The league leader among bad boy receivers is – of course – Terrell Owens, still and for the foreseeable future. Owens claims he has become a better man thanks to his new contract, a change I predict will last approximately 47 seconds. Dallas Coach Bill Parcells has expressed outrage that the media scrutinizes everything T.O. does. Hey Big Bill, that’s part of the package. Your outrage is as valid as when Barry Bonds complained about cameras in his face to his “Bonds on Bonds” camera. By single-handedly destroying the Eagles, T.O. eclipsed Moss and every other lightning-rod player in the league.

Moss? So far his time in Oakland has only been remarkable for its unremarkability. It is easy to forget that Moss was even on the Raiders last year – that’s how little impact he made.

So that’s one of Shell’s top priorities on his to-do list: make Randy Moss matter again.

Monday night he’s going back to the Metrodome, where No. 84 mattered every game. He caught more touchdowns and had more passing yards in his first six years in the league than any other receiver.

“Hopefully, the Metrodome will sell out because I’m coming back, but I’m a Raider now,” Moss said after last Sunday’s Hall of Fame game. “In a certain sense, it’s going to be special, but at the same time, I have a job to do. What I accomplished in Minnesota is way, way behind me.”

That’s the way it appeared last season, in every way.

After earning a reputation as a volatile, mega-talented receiver in Minnesota, Moss was virtually invisible, on the field and off. He scored a mere eight touchdowns in yet another lost Raiders season. Struggling with groin and abdomen injuries, Moss had 1,005 receiving yards, the second fewest of his career, behind only 2004 when he missed three games. He didn’t help the Raiders win – no one could do that. He didn’t have many “did you see that?” moments.

And he was equally no-impact off the field. When he spoke to reporters last Sunday in Canton, it was the first time he had addressed the local media in 11 months, since the Raiders’ 2005 opener.

And he wasn’t missed. Because really, there wasn’t much to talk about. Aside from that 15-second pause and telling Bryant Gumbel a year ago that he smokes marijuana “once in a blue moon,” Moss made no headlines. No noise. Little impact.

And that’s a problem. Shell has to find a way to get Randy back to being Randy. He doesn’t need to hire a traffic cop or round up Packers fans, but he needs Moss to matter. To be the kind of guy worthy of those Vikings fans’ boos.