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Was the Russell Wilson trade the worst in NFL history?


Was the Russell Wilson trade the worst in NFL history?  

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  1. 1. Was the Russell Wilson trade the worst in NFL history?



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I would like to re-submit the Saints' Mike Ditka trading for RB Ricky Williams into the record.

The Saints traded their first round (#12), third round, fourth round, fifth round, sixth round, and seventh round picks in the 1999 NFL Draft, and their first-round and third-round picks from the 2000 NFL Draft to the Washington Redskins for the fifth overall pick of the 1999 NFL Draft.

 

220px-Ricky_Ditka_ESPN_the_Magazine.jpg

 

From the Saints perspective, Ricky Williams subsequently signed one of the worst contracts in NFL history (arguably #1 from player perspective) so at least the cash outlay wasn't comparable to the Wilson fiasco

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It's probably 3rd behind the Herschel Walker and Ricky Williams trades.

Seattle got:

OT Charles Cross

EDGE Boye Mafe

EDGE Tyreke Smith

WR Dareke Young

CB Devon Weatherspoon

EDGE Darick Hall

TE Noah Fant

DL Shelby Harris

QB Drew Lock

 

Broncos got:

QB Russell Wilson

DT Eyioma Uwazurike 

 

Seattle won this handily.

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I don't think the results for either team makes it an all time bad trade. Like the Hershel Walker trade made the Vikings irrelevant and the Dallas Cowboys a dynasty... and one of the picks became Emmitt Smith who became the all time rushing leader at the same position. Russ was awful, then average, and the Seahawks maintained being a fringe playoff team. If anything happened major it's Russ' legacy took a thick hit. The Broncos made up some of the capital lost by moving Bradley Chubb and still have a foundational young piece in Patrick Surtain. It's not that bad of a situation for the Broncos and they weren't going to be in a great place regardless because Mahomes' division -- they took a swing and missed. At the time Broncos slightly overpaid, but it's not like Shelby Harris or Drew Lock were all that valuable. The first round picks became hits for the Seahawks, but a SB winning franchise QB that theoretically opens a window was going to involve multiple firsts. Watson is a way worse trade and beyond Watson is the Hershel Walker trade as an entire tier worse because Walker trade defined the 1990s. The Wilson trade won't define anything.

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14 minutes ago, Kiwibrown said:

Watson isn't worse imo. He has winning record as a starter here. Time will tell. Another injury plagued season then probably 

Watsons cap hit has been fairly low the last two seasons, so if he bounces back and plays at a high level this year, that trade is still salvageable.

I dont see it happening....but I also dont think we can call the Watson trade worse YET when the Wilson deal is already a 100% proven disaster.

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8 hours ago, TecmoSuperJoe said:

Bad, but no. I'd rank the Ricky Williams, Herschel Walker, Deshaun Watson, and John Hadl trades higher.

I can't really say that Deshaun Watson is a worse trade - unless we're factoring in the off-field stuff, that is. Going into it while knowing he was going to miss three quarters of a season and still paying premium prices might be a bit foolish, but that's what you do for a QB. (I guess...?)

Watson could still contribute next season, the Wilson era is absolutely dead.

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30 minutes ago, ET80 said:

I can't really say that Deshaun Watson is a worse trade - unless we're factoring in the off-field stuff, that is. Going into it while knowing he was going to miss three quarters of a season and still paying premium prices might be a bit foolish, but that's what you do for a QB. (I guess...?)

Watson could still contribute next season, the Wilson era is absolutely dead.

You have to factor in the contract to the trade because they were the same transaction in this case.

So Watson is worse to this point compared to Wilson IMO because Watson has been terrible so far while the rest of the team was good enough to win, so if they had found a good QB in the short term there may have been a chance for real playoff success. The Broncos were just bad. While in the near future, Watson has got 3 fully guaranteed years left at cap hits of $64MM/year, and it legitimately looks like he can't beat out a backup. So for 3 more years the Browns are basically stuck in Saints-style purgatory trying to find the right combination of pieces that turn the clock back.

It's about as bad a trade can theoretically be. As bad as the Broncos trade is, they were made at the same time and the Browns have $140MM more in dead cap right now on Watson compared to Wilson. If that's not crazy enough, the Browns owe Watson more guaranteed money than the Chiefs owe Mahomes. Not when the deals were signed, I mean right now.

 

The only reason the Bryce Young trade might be worse is because with how hard it is to find a franchise QB and how short contracts are, that trade could bite the Panthers in the *** for 15 years compared to the 5 or so that the Browns trade maxes out at. But yeah, Watson is worse with or without the off-field stuff.

Edited by ramssuperbowl99
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