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The Denver Broncos’ big gamble on Russell Wilson in 2022 now ranks among the worst NFL trades ever.
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Few can look beyond the massive and, for Minnesota, catastrophic trade for Hershel Walker in 1989.
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In 2018, the Bears bet the house to move up to first overall, and overlooked Patrick Mahomes.
Quite famously, the NFL’s trade deadline has paled in comparison to the scrambles, craziness, and sheer volume of deals done in leagues like the NHL and NBA.
Luckily for NFL fans, though, there are plenty of deals that get done throughout the season, around draft day, and when the cap’s about to crunch.
Even though many of them have earned the status of being the most valuable sports teams in the world, NFL teams can and will get it wrong in trade negotiations. These are the worst of those NFL trades.
1 - Herschel Walker, 1989 (Cowboys to Vikings)
The Herschel Walker trade to the Minnesota Vikings is famously ranked as the worst trade in NFL history.
In the midst of the 1989 season, the running back was in a bit of a slump following his stellar 1988 campaign of 1,514 yards in 16 games with 246 yards from the opening five. Still, Minnesota wanted the back badly.
The Vikings and Cowboys eventually settled on a deal that would get the Vikings Walker, Dallas’ 1990 third-round pick, the Chargers’ 1990 fifth-round pick, Dallas’ 1990 tenth-rounder, and the Cowboys’ 1991 third-round pick.
Dallas welcomed five new players – flipping Darrin Nelson to the Chargers – 1990, 1991, and 1993 first-rounders, 1990, 1991, and 1992 second-round picks, and a 1992 third-round with a 1990 six-round pick on top.
This helped to lay the foundations for the dominance of the Cowboys in the 1990s under Jerry Jones new ownership – especially as their first-rounder and one of their thirds were used to trade up for Emmitt Smith.
By the end of his time in Minnesota, Walker had put up 20 touchdowns and 2,264 yards in 42 games, but by 1992, he was already in Philadelphia’s colours. In 1996, he returned to Dallas in a minor role.
2 - Russell Wilson, 2022 (Seahawks to Broncos)
Super Bowl XLVIII and nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson looked to be set on being a career Seahawk, but then the Denver Broncos came in with an offer that simply couldn’t be refused.
The Seahawks had just missed the playoffs and were clearly still rebuilding back from their Legion of Boom days, and so, they had to accept a 2022 and 2023 first-round pick, 2022 and 2023 second-rounders, and a 2022 fifth-round pick for their star QB.
On top of these, promising young tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and the potentially high-ceiling QB Drew Lock were all sent to Seattle by Denver.
Perhaps the best way to demonstrate the failure of this NFL trade is that this season (2024), you’ll be able to back Wilson in the live betting whenever he steps onto the field with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
As a Bronco on a $245 million deal over five years signed as a 34-year-old QB, Wilson went 11-19-0 for 42 touchdowns, 19 interceptions, and was benched towards the end of his time in Denver.
The Broncos may have struck the right chord in picking their top-ranking mascot, but with this deal, they get a place among the worst trades in NFL history.
3 - Ricky Williams, 1999 (Saints Trading Up)
With the 1999 NFL Draft on the way, it’d be fair to say that the New Orleans Saints didn’t keep their cards close to the chest. They were very public admirers of running back Ricky Williams, which didn’t help them in negotiations.
They traded all of their remaining picks in the 1999 draft (which was all of them bar the second-rounder), and their 2000 first and third-round picks.
This trade – which ranks among the NFL’s worst – also puts the Saints as the only team to ever select just one player in a draft.
On the receiving end of this boon was the Washington Redskins, who had the fifth overall spot from Carolina and had just seen the other top back in the draft, Edgerrin James (now a Hall of Famer), go to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Redskins leveraged their position perfectly in this deal. The Saints did get a top-class player, but with their capital depleted, they couldn’t build around the highly-rated back. In 2002, Williams was traded to Miami.
4 - O.J. Simpson, 1978 (Bills to 49ers)
One of those players who managed to transcend the NFL, for better and worse, O.J. Simpson also places among the worst trades in NFL history for the day his hometown team drew him away from the Bills.
Coming into the 1978 season, the struggling San Francisco 49ers saw an opportunity to win over fans by bringing the famed Californian running back to the team – but paid an excessive price to do so.
In his prime, the price of a 1978 second and third, as well as 1979 first, second, and fourth-round picks wouldn’t have seemed so bad, but he’d just had knee surgery and was already 30-years-old.
Simpson managed to start 18 games over two seasons, ran for four touchdowns and 1,053 yards, and retired in 1979. Luckily for 49ers fans, the franchise has certainly refined its negotiation skills.
In 2022, they managed to pinch Christian McCaffrey for a third, fourth, and fifth-round pick, and now, he’s a huge reason why fans back the 49ers when they bet on NFL games and outrights.
5 - Mitchell Trubisky, 2017 (Bears Trading Up)
This trade saw the Chicago Bears go all-in on who they hoped would be their franchise quarterback from the get-go and for many years to come, but in being fixated on immediacy, they overlooked some great picks.
The consensus first-overall pick was edge rusher Myles Garrett. Then sat the San Francisco 49ers, who were in need of a new quarterback with Colin Kaepernick departed and Kyle Shanahan wanting to bring his Atlanta offence with him.
The Bears, desperate for an NFL-ready QB, traded their first (third overall), third, and fourth-round picks in the 2017 Draft as well as a third-rounder in 2018.
In that first round that saw Trubisky go second overall, Patrick Mahomes went tenth, and Deshaun Watson went 12th overall. It was a light year for high-potential QBs, but two of the three available proved to be game-changers.
After four years, the Bears threw in the towel on their Mitchell Trubisky experiment, with him fading from the starting role in 2020.
In the end, his record stood as 29-21-0 with 64 touchdowns, 37 interceptions, and a 64 completion percentage.
Trubisky certainly wasn’t an awful NFL quarterback, but giving up so much to trade up when waiting and just picking the next-best would have yielded Mahomes or Watson puts this among the worst NFL trades in history.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
