10 Worst NFL Trades of All Time - Where Does Russell Wilson's Trade To Broncos Rank?

March 16, 2024

Aidin Ebrahimi looks at the 10 worst trades in NFL history. Where does QB Russell Wilson's trade to the Broncos rank among the group?

Broncos Country, let's...end our partnership. After two turbulent seasons and zero playoff appearances, the Broncos have moved on from Russell Wilson and he will now be a member of the QB room for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Wilson trade will go down as one of the worst trades in NFL history, but there have been many other terrible trades that have set franchises back for years, some even for decades. While the other team benefited greatly from their trading partner's stupidity.

With that being said, let's look at the 10 worst trades in NFL history. Keep in mind that this list is entirely subjective.

#10. Dolphins Send Wes Welker to Patriots

Randy Moss's trade to New England was almost included, but considering that Welker played in 41 more games as a Patriot, he makes this list in place of Moss. Even though Welker never won a ring, he still put up ridiculous numbers as a Patriot, averaging 1,363 receiving yards and seven touchdowns a season in his six years in New England.

I love the fact that Tom Brady and Wes Welker will always be in the record books with a 99 yard TD pass. Kinda hard to top that imo pic.twitter.com/zh2dSdtG5i

— TCL (@TitleTalkTCL) February 26, 2023

He made five Pro Bowls and was named an All-Pro four times during this span, and the Dolphins must regret sending him to their division rivals for their 2007 second- and seventh-round picks. Welker went 9-2 against his old team during his Pats tenure, and the Dolphins only made the playoffs once in those six years.

#9. 49ers Trade Up With Dolphins for Trey Lance

One of the worst trades in recent memory, the Niners weren't content with Jimmy Garoppolo at QB. Even though he isn't the most talented QB in the world, he had brought them a lot of success and was a perfect fit in their system. The Niners didn't realize this, as they decided to shoot for the stars and trade for the physically impressive North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.

The Dolphins ended up getting an absolute HAUL in the Trey Lance trade 🤯 pic.twitter.com/IclnpzWCph

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) November 1, 2022

They gave the Dolphins their first-round picks in 2021, 2022, and 2023 and their third-round pick in 2022. The Dolphins used those picks to draft Jaylen Waddle and to trade for Tyreek Hill, while Lance only started four games as a Niner before he was traded to the Cowboys. The only thing that prevents this from ranking higher is the Niners striking gold and finding their Garoppolo replacement in Brock Purdy.

#8. L.A. Rams Give Up Jerome Bettis to Steelers

This is one of the most infamous trades in NFL history. The Rams no longer had faith in their 24-year-old running back Jerome Bettis, who was coming off the worst season of his career. They wanted to build the team around their new quarterback Tony Banks and wanted to implement a pass-heavy offense.

So, they decided to part ways with Bettis, trading him to the Steelers along with a 1996 third-round pick for a 1996 second-round pick and a 1997 fourth-round pick. Bettis would go on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Steelers, while the Rams would win just 15 games over the next three seasons.

#7. Broncos Acquire Russell Wilson From Seahawks

Here it is, the trade that inspired this list. Wilson was a superstar in Seattle, but his tensions with HC Pete Carroll and the front office had gotten too much to ignore. The Broncos swooped in and traded two first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fifth-round pick, Drew Lock, Shelby Harris, and Noah Fant for Wilson and a fourth-round pick.

the Russell Wilson trade: pic.twitter.com/pvkDzo4PS2

— Steven Ruiz (@theStevenRuiz) December 28, 2022

When that trade was made, Denver thought they were going to be serious threats to the Chiefs in the AFC West. Wilson had averaged over 4,100 yards and 37 touchdowns a season in his last four healthy seasons, but the wheels fell off in Denver. Wilson went 11-19 as a Bronco and was cut in the offseason. He now hopes to rebuild his reputation in Pittsburgh.

#6. Buccaneers Send Steve Young Packing to 49ers

Do you want to know why the Bucs have the worst winning percentage in NFL history despite winning two Super Bowls in the new millennium? It's because of their terrible run from 1983 to 1996. They went 64-159 during this stretch, meaning that the average Bucs team in that era would win less than five games a season.

But that could have changed had the Bucs been patient with Steve Young and let him develop. Instead, they traded Young to the Bay Area for a second- and fourth-round pick. Young would go on to become a Hall of Famer, while the Buccaneers failed to make the playoffs until 1997.

#5. Falcons Send Brett Favre to Packers

We're now focusing on another NFC South team that gave up a future Hall of Fame QB to an NFC rival, but this one is arguably worse because, unlike the Buccaneers, the Falcons have no rings. Favre was picked by the Falcons in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He never completed a pass for them and had serious problems with their head coach Jerry Glanville, who "hated" Favre's party lifestyle and claimed that it would take a plane crash for him to put Favre in a game.

They flipped Favre for the 17th pick to the Packers, and while it was a terrific piece of business in 1992 (flipped a second-round pick for a first), it got worse and worse as the years went by. Favre racked up three MVPs and won a Super Bowl with the Packers.

#4. Bears Trade Up With 49ers for Mitch Trubisky

Mitch Trubisky was a solid QB for the Bears, as he had a winning record with them, made a Pro Bowl in 2018, and even led them to two playoff appearances in four seasons. Their ranking here is strictly due to what could have been. The Bears traded a first-, third-, and fourth-round pick in 2017 and a 2018 third-round pick to the 49ers to move up just one spot in the draft, and they took Trubisky second overall.

Pat Mahomes counted to 10, eight picks after the Bears drafted Mitchell Trubisky 😳

(via @Chiefs)pic.twitter.com/M44zVL7SJO

— ESPN (@espn) December 23, 2019

They drafted Trubisky over Patrick Mahomes, and two of those picks turned into Alvin Kamara and Fred Warner. So, the Bears could have had two superstars and they still could have taken one of the greatest players this league has ever seen had they never made this trade. This trade will haunt the Bears for decades.

#3. Saints Trade Up With Washington for Ricky Williams

Yes, this isn't the worst trade in NFL history because the Saints actually received a solid haul when they got rid of Williams, but the sheer amount of picks they gave up to the then-Washington Redskins ensures that they make this list. Saints HC Mike Ditka was enamored with Williams and decided to trade all of their picks in the 1999 NFL Draft and two of their first three picks in the 2000 NFL Draft for the fifth pick, which they used to draft Williams.

Imagine if Twitter was around in 1999 when the Saints traded an entire year’s draft (and a 1 and a 3) to draft RB Ricky Williams at No. 5. pic.twitter.com/WzEvsTHkxh

— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) April 19, 2020

The Redskins used those picks to draft three future All-Pros (Jon Jansen, LaVar Arrington, and future Hall of Famer Champ Bailey), while the Saints only got three seasons out of Williams as the team traded him to the Dolphins because they got tired of his off-field antics. They received two first-round picks and a fourth-round pick for him, the only saving grace of this trade.

#2. L.A. Chargers Trade Up With Cardinals for Ryan Leaf

The story of Ryan Leaf is well-documented, so we won't focus much on that here. We will focus on the haul that the Cardinals received for trading the second overall pick of the 1998 NFL Draft.

The Cardinals received two first-round picks (which included future All-Pro David Boston), a second-round pick (who turned into future Pro Bowler Corey Chavous), and All-Pro kick returner Eric Metcalf for the second overall pick. The Chargers got just 13 touchdowns and a whopping 33 interceptions out of Leaf, while the 1998 Cardinals won their first playoff game since 1947.

#1. Vikings Give Everything to Cowboys for Herschel Walker

Arguably the most infamous trade in NFL history, the Minnesota Vikings felt like they needed just one extra piece to make a Super Bowl run. So, they decided to trade a first-, second-, and sixth-round pick and four players to the Cowboys for star running back Herschel Walker. However, the Vikings included two conditional first-round picks, two conditional second-round picks, and a conditional third-round pick if the Cowboys cut those four players.

They assumed that the Cowboys -- who had the league's worst record -- would keep those players. They didn't, and they used these picks to build a dynasty. The Vikings, meanwhile, would only make one playoff appearance and wouldn't win a playoff game until Walker's final season in 1997, when he was back with the Cowboys.

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