Herschel has found some rivals...

[JameisBrownston]

...for "subject of the worst trade ever"! Namely, Russell Wilson and Trey Lance (the draft pick used to get him) are the contenders. With Lance having just been shipped off for a 4th, we can put a wrapper on that story once and for all; there remains at least a chance for a Wilson redemption, but it's hard to foresee him digging out of this deep a hole to rescue the trade. Is anyone ready to step out and say one of these trades was worse than the Walker trade?

Oh, and can't forget old Milt Plum for Jim Ninowski. Lower stakes,
but probably the most boneheadedly stupid and shortsighted from the moment of inception out of all of them.

[Sonny9]

The Redskins traded Paul Krause to the Minnesota Vikings for linebacker Marlin McKeever and a seventh-round draft choice.

[Brian wolf]

Yeah, Lance was pretty bad and they could still regret it if there are injuries to Purdy or Darnold but ever since Shanahan has been with the team, he cant keep healthy QBs. Dumb luck, suspect protection schemes or just brittle QBs? I am not sure but his runners and receivers get hurt alot as well. This team needs to get its act together and win it all but I still feel their owner is despised for whatever reason.

At least the CBA from 2011 softens the results from these disastrous draft-capital trades. Imagine trading those #1 picks before the rookie caps?

[Brian wolf]

If Wilson, Payton and the Broncos can win 9 games this season or even make the playoffs, it will go a long way in covering up the disastrous season last year but Payton still needs to give Wilson some weapons. I simply dont see them on the roster unless Jeudy, Williams and Sutton can stay healthy and improve. If WR Thomas in Nawlins cant stay healthy or dogs it this year, would Payton bring him to the Broncos next season?

[Bryan]

It seemed like after the Herschel trade, no one in the NFL made another trade for like 25 years because they were too scared.

Here are some older trades that I recall being one sided:

*Browns trading Doug Atkins and Ken Gorgal to Bears for 3rd and 6th round picks

*Browns trading Henry Jordan to Packers for 4th round pick

*Browns trading Willie Davis to Packers for AD Williams

*Niners trade YA Tittle to Giants for Lou Cordelieone ("Me? Just me?")

*Eagles trade Jurgensen (& a DB) to Skins for Snead (& a DB)

*Bills trade Lamonica/Bass to Raiders for Flores/Powell

*Any trade involving Gary Cuozzo

*Any trade involving Billy Newsome

[conace21]

*Bills trade Lamonica/Bass to Raiders for Flores/Powell

I know, what a steal that was for the Bills. They received two Hall of Famers in that trade!
(I'm assuming Powell will be elected to the HOF this February, as all other recent Senior candidates have been.)

[Brian wolf]

Crazy season for Powell and Flores. Powell had 4 TDs off 20 receptions before getting hurt and Flores and Kemp had disastrous seasons, throwing for only 14 TD passes against 34 interceptions. Despite only playing six games, Powell was second on the team in TDs scored. Bobby Burnett went from ROY in 1966 to injury, then out of football. The great defense slipped as well. Such a bad year for HC Joe Collier that he would be fired after only two games in 1968, where the Bills would hire Harvey Johnson and have one of the worst seasons in pro football history.

Glenn Bass had been an early star for Buffalo but couldnt make the Raiders team while Lamonica won his only AFL championship as a starter accounting for 34 TDs and POY ...

[Gary Najman]

My favorite trade of all-time came in the 1982 NFL Draft when Tampa Bay wanted to draft unheralded DE Booker Reese from Bethune-Cookman in the first round (they thought he would be the next Lee Roy Selmon). Due to a bad communication to NY, the Buccaneers ended drafting G Sean Farrell from Penn State, the Bucs panicked and then traded to Chicago their first round pick of 1983 to Chicago (who turned out to be WR Willie Gault) for the Bears second round pick to draft Reese. It was appearant at the time that Reese would have stay on the board until the 5th round at least. As it turned out, Reese was a bust and was traded to the Rams two years later for a 12th round pick, ending his NFL career with only 2 games in 1985.

[GameBeforeTheMoney]

There have been a lot of terrible trades in NFL history. The generally written history is that the Herschel trade "built" the Cowboys dynasty and that the Vikings got fleeced - and the theory that Minnesota could have won something if they didn't make the trade. That Minnesota team was stacked - Chris Doleman, John Randle, Joey Browner, Carl Lee on defense. Walker, Anthony Carter, Steve Jordan on offense. Rich Gannon was a future MVP at QB and Wade Wilson was effective for his time. And they used one of the draft picks they got back from Dallas to pick Jake Reed, who had over 1K yards receiving 4x. Minnesota traded a lot, got a very good running back, had great players on their team, and just never put it together. Meanwhile, Herschel gained over 1K yards from scrimmage the two full years in Minnesota. Had Minnesota not made that trade, I don't see them winning any more than they did. Dallas might not have won as much as they ended up doing, But really the Cowboys ended up trading up with those picks to draft Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson and Russell Maryland. Three guys. They still would have had Aikman, Irivin, Novacek, Charles Haley from the 49ers, and their offensive line. Yeah, Dallas got a fair amount out of the trade. and yeah, Minnesota couldn't win with Walker and he was gone in a couple of years. But IMO, Dallas still likely would have been a contender and Minnesota still had a fair chance of still not being able to win a championship because they had some excellent players after the deal.

Worse trades:

Oilers trading Ken Houston for several players who never turned out.

Rams trading Bettis.

Kansas City trading Curley Culp and a draft pick that ended up being Robert Brazile to Houston for John Matuszak.

And I think the trades like the Goff, Wentz, Lance, Ricky Williams, trading a ton of high draft picks to pick one unproven player - those aren't very smart either. There are a few players who seem like they can't miss - very rare players. Then it's maybe worth a gamble. For the most part, it's just a guessing game. Aaron Donald and JJ Watt are the last two players I remember thinking were can't miss. They don't happen often.

[JameisBrownston]

My favorite trade of all-time came in the 1982 NFL Draft when Tampa Bay wanted to draft unheralded DE Booker Reese from Bethune-Cookman in the first round (they thought he would be the next Lee Roy Selmon). Due to a bad communication to NY, the Buccaneers ended drafting G Sean Farrell from Penn State, the Bucs panicked and then traded to Chicago their first round pick of 1983 to Chicago (who turned out to be WR Willie Gault) for the Bears second round pick to draft Reese. It was appearant at the time that Reese would have stay on the board until the 5th round at least. As it turned out, Reese was a bust and was traded to the Rams two years later for a 12th round pick, ending his NFL career with only 2 games in 1985.

That's a Bucs Life moment if I've ever seen one. Reminds me of the Browns bungling the AJ McCarron deadline trade a few years ago.