NFL teams that regretted trading franchise QBs ft. Steve Young, Alex Smith and Brett Favre
Steve Young was once traded, Brett Favre was once traded, and now Russell Wilson has been traded. It can happen to even the most prestigious of names in the NFL. The movement of franchise signal-callers is nothing new.
Yet, it doesn't always work out, with several teams who traded away their star quarterback living to regret it reasonably soon after.
The Seattle Seahawks will be hoping they don't feel the same when a future analysis is made of the Wilson trade, but it is fascinating to see just how many times NFL teams simply get it completely wrong.
Here are the NFL teams who have regretted trading away their franchise quarterbacks
#1 - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Steve Young to San Francisco 49ers, 1987)
Steve Young was selected first overall in the 1984 NFL supplemental draft and didn't make his debut with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until 1985.
Hopes were high for Young, who excelled with the Los Angeles Express of the USFL, but his time in Tampa was ridiculed as he won just three of his 19 starts.
Tampa ran out of patience with Young, especially as the prospect of drafting Vinny Testaverde with the No.1 overall pick in 1987 came up.
Young, thus, was dealt to the San Francisco 49ers where Bill Walsh had seen something in the signal-caller and wanted him to succeed Joe Montana.
Everyone wins… right? Wrong.
Testaverde went on to have an awful time in Tampa, registering a lowly 47.6 pass completion rate in his second year with the franchise and winning just five of his first 14 NFL games.
In his six years as a Buccaneer, Testaverde never won more than six games in a season, and it's worth noting that the Tampa franchise wouldn't register a winning season from the date of the young trade right through to 1997.
On the other hand, Young had a glorious career in San Francisco, becoming one of the true greats of the modern era in the NFL.
OTD Steve Young breaks Joe Montana's Super Bowl record by throwing for SIX(!!!) touchdown passes.
(via @NFLThrowback) https://t.co/8piq3XDi22
As a starting quarterback, he went 91-33, won a Super Bowl and two MVP awards, proving the Buccaneers made a massive mistake in letting him go. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2005, by which time the Bucs had registered just five winning seasons in 18 years since the deal.
#2 - San Francisco 49ers (Alex Smith to Kansas City Chiefs, 2013)
San Francisco don't always get things so spectacularly right, though, as proven by their 2013 decision to move Alex Smith to Kansas City.
Despite his excessive talent, Smith's injury saw his position usurped by Colin Kaepernick as the starter in San Francisco. With Kaepernick leading the Niners to a Super Bowl, Smith was sent away to work with Andy Reid and the Chiefs.
This seemed like the right move on paper at the time, yet Kaepernick's career in the NFL would spiral right out of control, albeit not for reasons entirely linked to on-field performance.
Meanwhile, Smith rejuvenated his career and became a prodigious passer in Reid's offense, throwing for 17,608 yards and 102 touchdowns in five years at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kaepernick would lose his job as a starter by 2015 and only had one winning season after the Smith trade. Smith would not register anything other than winning records in all the NFL seasons he played for the Chiefs.
Also Checkout:- Steve Young Super Bowl Wins