Eden Prairie, Minn. ? To hear Randy Moss tell it, this week’s blockbuster trade that moved him from New England to Minnesota didn’t just bring him back to the place where he started his NFL career.

The headline-grabbing move wasn’t about Moss simply coming back to a team that traded him five years ago.

More important than anything for Moss, and thus for the Vikings, is that the star receiver feels like he is home.

“I’m very fortunate to be back home where it all started,” said Moss, the West Virginia native who referred to Minnesota as home seven times Thursday. “It’s been a hectic last 48 hours. I didn’t really know what to expect. I’m back home.”

Wearing that familiar purple No. 84 on his back, Moss practiced with the Vikings a day after he was acquired from the Patriots in a trade his new team hopes will get them right back in the Super Bowl conversation.

“To all the Vikings fans that are coming to the Metrodome, pull your 84 jerseys out, man,” Moss said. “I think this is going to be a fun ride.”

With owners Zygi and Mark Wilf watching from the sideline, Moss caught passes from Brett Favre and talked to offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell as he prepares for Monday night’s game.