5 Worst Trades in NFL History ft. DeAndre Hopkins, Antonio Brown and more
Trades in the NFL are happening more than ever, and it seems that, this off-season, we are seeing more blockbuster trades than ever before. Since the 2022 NFL league year officially began on March 16, there have been a host of NFL stars being traded to new franchises for the upcoming season.
Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks, including the Dolphins' first-, second-, and fourth-round draft picks and fourth for the 2022 NFL draft, as well as a fourth- and sixth-rounder in 2023. Hill also signed a four-year $120 million extension upon signing in Miami, making him the highest paid receiver in the league.
Just another day in the offseason 🔥 https://t.co/8hveeSQcgU
During this same offseason, fellow superstar wideout Davante Adams moved from the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders, where he would, once again, team up with his college teammate at Fresno State, quarterback Derek Carr. The Packers got a first- and second-round 2022 NFL draft pick in return for five-time Pro Bowler Adams.
It is yet to be seen whether or not these trades will be worth their value, but there have been plenty of trades throughout the history of the NFL that have proved to be catastrophic for either the team trading the player or the team gaining the player.
This could be due to a number of factors, such as the team overpaying draft capital for a mediocre player, or the player turning out to be a bust on his new team. There are also plenty of examples of teams undervaluing star talent and giving them away for far too little.
5 Worst NFL Trades of All-Time
#5 - Raiders Trade Randy Moss for a Fourth-Round Pick
Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss is widely regarded as one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. Despite this, after two sub-par seasons with the Oakland Raiders, where Moss had only tallied 553 receiving yards in 2006, the Raiders parted ways with an unhappy Moss as the New England Patriots acquired him for a fourth-round selection in the 2007 draft.
Moss would go on to have one of the best receiving seasons of all-time during his debut campaign in 2007 with New England, catching a league record of 23 touchdowns, as well as tallying 1,493 receiving yards. The Patriots, with Moss and Tom Brady, embarked on a historic 2007 season, going 16-0 in the regular season before losing out to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.
Moss would also surpass 1,000 receiving yards over the next two seasons in New England, making the trade of a fourth-round pick more than worth it for the Patriots, and proving terrible business from a Raiders perspective. The Raiders used the fourth-round pick to select cornerback John Bowie out of Cincinnati, who was waived by the team in 2009, and only logged two career tackles and no interceptions.
#4 - The Bears Trade up for Trubisky
The Chicago Bears held the third spot in the 2017 NFL draft, but that didn't stop them from giving up a haul of picks to move up one spot to select quarterback Mitchell Trubisky second overall. Moving from third to second in a move with the San Francisco 49ers, the Bears gave up their first-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2017, as well as a third-rounder in the 2018 NFL draft.
Trubisky struggled to develop as an elite-level quarterback throughout his time in Chicago, never passing for more than 3,500 yards or 25 touchdowns before he was released by the Bears following the 2020 season.
The trade the Bears made to move up will go down as one of the worst in NFL history, as the 49ers wouldn't even select a quarterback with their pick, drafting defensive end Soloman Thomas, so there will be an argument about how the Bears didn't need to move up at all.
As well as this, both Patrick Mahomes (10th overall) and Deshaun Watson (12th overall) were drafted by the Chiefs and Texans, respectively, in the first round of the same 2017 draft, making the Bears trade-up to select Trubisky one of the worst in NFL history.