The one that got away...

[Saban1]

Art Modell traded away Floyd Peters, Mike Lucci, Clifton McNeil, Vince Costello, Ross Fichtner, John Wooten, Charlie Harraway, Marvin Upshaw, Jim Kanicki, Ron Johnson, Bob Matheson, Jack Gregory, and Paul Warfield, and these were only before the 1972 season.

[sheajets]

Terance Mathis for the Jets

Nick Lowery for the Patriots

Maybe Wes Welker for the Dolphins. But he was a trade. Anywhere but N.E. and he remains a 60-70 catch underneath guy. But perfect Patriots system player (interchangeable part)

[BD Sullivan]

Art Modell traded away Floyd Peters, Mike Lucci, Clifton McNeil, Vince Costello, Ross Fichtner, John Wooten, Charlie Harraway, Marvin Upshaw, Jim Kanicki, Ron Johnson, Bob Matheson, Jack Gregory, and Paul Warfield, and these were only before the 1972 season.

*Gregory was dealt because of a contract dispute (one of many Modell had) and Costello was deemed too old, with Matheson the man who was expected to replace him. The draft pick the Browns got was sent to Philly and they got WR Ron Duncan

*Lucci was part of the three-way deal with the Lions, with the Browns getting Erich Barnes.

*Matheson was traded to Miami for a second rounder, with the Browns taking Lester Sims.

*Johnson and Kanicki were traded to get Homer Jones, who was supposed to replace Warfield. That worked out well.

*Fichtner and Wooten were sent away after an ugly racial incident about black olayers not being invited to a golf tournament.

*Peters was traded to the Lions after Karras was suspended--yet all the Browns got was Ken Webb

*Harraway and Clifton McNeil got lost in numbers games, getting stuck behind Leroy Kelly/Bo Scott and Warfield/Gary Collins. respectively

*Upshaw was traded to the Chiefs for a third rounder--which didn't turn out too bad, they got LB Charlie Hall

and, of course

*Warfield to Miami for the 4th pick in the draft to pick up Mike Phipps, since Bill Nelsen's knees had been on borrowed time.

[7DnBrnc53]

Maybe Wes Welker for the Dolphins. But he was a trade. Anywhere but N.E. and he remains a 60-70 catch underneath guy. But perfect Patriots system player (interchangeable part)

The Dolphins weren't the only team that let him get away. SD had him in 2004, but Schottenheimer released him after Week 1.

Also, the Eagles had WR Jimmy Smith in 1994 and cut him. This was the year before they barely missed trading for Mark Brunell. Smith and Brunell could have blossomed in Philly, not Jacksonville.

And, while he never played for them, the Bears let Joe Montana go when Jim Finks changed his mind about drafting him (in Round 3) at the last second.

[JeffreyMiller]

The Browns had Cookie Gilchrist ...

[Todd Pence]

The Redskins traded Paul Krause to the Vikings for Marlin McKeever after the 1967 season. Krause continued to demonstrate the all-pro ability he had shown during his first four years for a decade more with Minnesota, and retired with 100 career turnovers. McKeever was a marginal player during his three years with the 'Skins.

[Saban1]

The Browns had Cookie Gilchrist ...

Jim Brown and Cookie Gilchrist in the same backfield. That would have been interesting.

[Saban1]

Art Modell traded away Floyd Peters, Mike Lucci, Clifton McNeil, Vince Costello, Ross Fichtner, John Wooten, Charlie Harraway, Marvin Upshaw, Jim Kanicki, Ron Johnson, Bob Matheson, Jack Gregory, and Paul Warfield, and these were only before the 1972 season.

*Gregory was dealt because of a contract dispute (one of many Modell had) and Costello was deemed too old, with Matheson the man who was expected to replace him. The draft pick the Browns got was sent to Philly and they got WR Ron Duncan

*Lucci was part of the three-way deal with the Lions, with the Browns getting Erich Barnes.

*Matheson was traded to Miami for a second rounder, with the Browns taking Lester Sims.

*Johnson and Kanicki were traded to get Homer Jones, who was supposed to replace Warfield. That worked out well.

*Fichtner and Wooten were sent away after an ugly racial incident about black olayers not being invited to a golf tournament.

*Peters was traded to the Lions after Karras was suspended--yet all the Browns got was Ken Webb

*Harraway and Clifton McNeil got lost in numbers games, getting stuck behind Leroy Kelly/Bo Scott and Warfield/Gary Collins. respectively

*Upshaw was traded to the Chiefs for a third rounder--which didn't turn out too bad, they got LB Charlie Hall

and, of course

*Warfield to Miami for the 4th pick in the draft to pick up Mike Phipps, since Bill Nelsen's knees had been on borrowed time.

As far as getting lost in the numbers game, I guess that you could say the same about Henry Jordan. Cleveland had Bob Gain, Don Colo, and then Floyd Peters as defensive tackles when they let Jordan go. Paul Brown said that he felt kind of responsible for Lombardi after helping him get the Green Bay head coaching job. He offered some players like Jordan and Davis that he thought would have trouble breaking into Cleveland's starting lineup.

Gain, Colo, and Peters were good players and were bigger than Henry Jordan.

Vince Lombardi would have become head coach of the New York Giants instead of Allie Sherman if Vince did not get the Green Bay job. I think that Brown preferred to have Lombardi in the Western Conference.

This brings another couple of questions: What if Peters had been traded to Green Bay? Would he be in the HOF now? I think that is not impossible.

What if Jordan and Davis were traded to Philadelphia instead of Green Bay? Would they still be in the HOF? I am not so sure.

[SixtiesFan]

The Browns had Cookie Gilchrist ...

Jim Brown and Cookie Gilchrist in the same backfield. That would have been interesting.

Last fall there was a NFL Network "A Football Life" show on Jim Brown. He indicated he wasn't happy with the idea of Ernie Davis replacing Bobby Mitchell as his running mate. Brown said something like "Bobby Mitchell was OK with nine carries a game while I had 20-25."

[BD Sullivan]

The Browns had Cookie Gilchrist ...

Jim Brown and Cookie Gilchrist in the same backfield. That would have been interesting.

Gilchrist had just turned 19 and had been playing high school football the year before. The Browns had to get special permission from Bert Bell to sign him in June 1954, with Bell giving it after supposedly talking with the principal at Gilchrist's high school, who essentially indicated that he probably wouldn't have the grades to get into college.

At that period, Gilchrist was just too raw for the Browns to have the luxury of keeping him. They had to squeeze in as much versatility as they could among their 33(?)-man roster, though it's not like there was a wealth of talent in the backfield. Maurice Bassett led the team in rushing that year--and he didn't even break 600 yards.