The NFL world sees plenty of turnover from year to year. Whether it be new players from the draft, free agency, or even trades, a lot is going on. Trades, however, spark some of the biggest blockbuster moves around.
However, not all trades work out. For the Denver Broncos, they sent a lot for Russell Wilson back in 2022. With Wilson being cut not even two full years later, it’s evidence that some trades can be disastrous for one side, or maybe even both in some circumstances. What are some of the worst trades of all time?
The Russell Wilson Trade
Wilson prospered on the Seattle Seahawks for around a decade. However, over the final years of his time there, things began to get dysfunctional and the relationship soured to a point where there was no going back.
Ultimately, on March 8, 2022, the Seahawks traded Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round draft pick to the Broncos for a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 second-round pick, a 2022 fifth-round pick, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, and three players: tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris and quarterback Drew Lock.
After the trade was made, the Broncos signed Wilson to a five-year, $242.5 million contract that featured $161 million guaranteed. It would be his contract and on-field performance that led to the demise of this trade.
In his two seasons with the Broncos, Wilson went 11-19 and passed for 6,594 yards, 42 touchdowns, and 19 interceptions. He was benched late in 2023 in favor of Jarrett Stidham.
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Beyond just his on-field issues, Wilson was mainly benched because he wouldn’t adjust his contract. More specifically, he wouldn’t adjust the guaranteed money in his contract.
“We beat the Chiefs. They came up to me at the beginning of the bye week — Monday or Tuesday — and told me that if I didn’t change my contract, my injury guarantee, that I’d be benched for the rest of the year … I was definitely disappointed about it,” Wilson said.
Finally, things ended with the Broncos cutting Wilson on March 4, 2024, incurring an NFL-record $85 million in dead money. Wilson, on the other hand, becomes a free agent for the first time in his career.
A Handful of Running Backs Headline Worst NFL Trades
While Wilson’s trade is definitely one of the worst, there are many more mistakes people have made. Some of the most notable bad trades include sending tons of value for running backs who simply didn’t meet expectations.
Herschel Walker Trade
While Walker was one of the greatest college running backs of all time, the NFL was a different story. He did, however, incur a lot of value in a trade between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings.
While the move came with the Cowboys coming off of a 1-15 season, it was key in thrusting them into their ’90s Super Bowl run. To make matters even crazier, it was a three-way trade too.
Cowboys received:
LB Jesse Solomon
LB David Howard
CB Issiac Holt
DE Alex Stewart
MIN first (1990)
MIN second (1990)
MIN sixth (1990)
MIN first (1991)
MIN second (1992)
MIN third (1992)
Vikings received:
RB Herschel Walker
DAL third (1990)
SD fifth (1990)
DAL 10th (1990)
DAL third (1991)
Chargers received:
RB Darrin Nelson
All of those picks and players for the Cowboys ended up becoming Emmitt Smith, Alexander Wright, Russell Maryland, Alvin Harper, Dixon Edwards, Kevin Smith, and Darren Woodson. Those players won as many Super Bowls as the number of seasons Walker lasted in Minnesota (three).
Ricky Williams Trade
Walker wasn’t the only college star running back that resulted in a blockbuster NFL trade; Ricky Williams was too. The New Orleans Saints traded every pick they owned in the 1999 NFL Draft to the then-Washington Redskins in exchange for the top pick to take Williams. They also sent two picks in the 2000 NFL Draft.
While Williams did end up rushing for 10,009 yards and 66 touchdowns, only three of his seasons came with New Orleans. Washington, on the other hand, ended up using the picks to move around and ended up with Champ Bailey and Lavar Arrington.
Trey Lance Trade
This one’s a bit more recent, but it’s also very bad. While the San Francisco 49ers were able to make it to the Super Bowl under Jimmy Garoppolo’s lead under center, he wasn’t enough for them to win it all, and they knew it. As a result, the team decided they wanted one of the quarterbacks in the 2021 NFL Draft, a highly touted group.
The 49ers traded the 12th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, a 2022 first-round pick, a 2022 third-round pick, and a 2023 first-round pick to Miami in exchange for the No. 3 pick. They then used that pick to take Trey Lance, with Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson already having gone off the board.
Lance had started just four games over two of his three seasons at North Dakota State. He wound up struggling with injuries in the NFL and didn’t play at a very high level either. The 49ers traded Lance to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick.
Ryan Leaf and Mitch Trubisky Trades
This is another crazy one to think about, but the Chargers actually traded up to take Ryan Leaf, widely considered one of the biggest busts in NFL history.
The Chargers, who held the third-overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft, traded up to get the second-overall pick and take Leaf. The Chargers sent the No. 3 pick, their second-round pick, and their first-round pick the following season as well as Eric Metcalf and Patrick Sapp in return for the pick from the Arizona Cardinals.
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The Chicago Bears did something similar when they took Mitch Trubisky in the 2017 NFL Draft. Chicago traded the third pick, the 67th pick, the 111th pick, and the 70th pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to move up a single spot with the 49ers. Trubisky had minimal success, later being cut, and was taken over Patrick Mahomes.
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