While trades aren’t as common in the NFL as they are in Major League Baseball—or the NBA… They still happen.
And weirdly, it feels like more often than not, the trades that are executed in the NFL—end up having blockbuster status. Big names move!
Sometimes, that works out well for the dealer—and sometimes, well, the GM is left with their face in their hands—pining over a grave error.
Let’s take a look back at some of these deals-gone-wrong, as we dive into the 10 NFL players that these teams wish they NEVER traded.
Wes Welker
A natural place to start here is down in South Beach, with the Miami Dolphins, who have to imagine are pretty sick over their horrible decision to ship the future New England Patriots legend, Wes Welker, out of town.
Long before Welker was making clutch catches underneath from Tom Brady in Gillette Stadium—and then again from Peyton Manning in Denver—he was actually a Miami Dolphin.
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He was there for three years, from 2004 until 2006, after they signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech.
The undersized wide receiver was a decent producer for the Dolphins. During his first year he was just a kick return specialist—then after his rookie year, he got some action as a wide receiver.
In ’05 he caught 29 passes for 434 yards—and in ’06 he upped his performance in a big way, snagging 67 catches for 687 yards and a touchdown.
Solid, solid numbers… But they pale in comparison to what he did once New England brought him into the fold the following year and started to up his usage.
Welker went on to snag over 100 passes for over 1000 yards in five of the next six seasons. And in three of them, he led the league in receptions!
He also had four all-pros and five Pro Bowl nominations… Say no more!
No doubt the Dolphins regret having shipped him out of town for just a second and seventh-round draft pick… Especially to a hated division rival like the Patriots!
Minkah Fitzpatrick
That is not the only boneheaded deal the Dolphins have found themselves on the wrong side of.
More recently, they decided to trade one of their best defensive players, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Dolphins shipped him to the Steel City along with a 2020 fourth-round pick and a 2021 seventh-round pick, in exchange for a first- and fifth-round pick in 2020 and a 2021 sixth-round pick.
The Dolphins were basically tanking at the time, so the move sort of made sense back then. But after seeing how Fitzpatrick has blossomed into a true superstar in Pittsburgh, Miami probably wishes that they had him anchoring their defense as they’re suddenly a playoff-contending team once again!
Especially when you consider how little the Dolphins made out of those picks they got from the Steelers—and the fact that the Steelers were still able to keep Minkah for two more years on a rookie deal! Nothing quite like sending, young, talented, and cheap players out of town for PENNIES on the dollar!
Jason Peters
Staying in the AFC East… The Buffalo Bills had a couple of major blunders that you have to think they want back.
First off, how about the time they decided to cut bait and trade one of the all-time diamonds in the rough that the league has ever seen—Jason Peters?
The future Hall of Fame offensive tackle played for the Bills from 2004, when the team signed him as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Arkansas, until 2008, when the team made an—erhm—rather questionable decision and dealt him to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for their first-round pick, 28th overall, a fourth-round pick, 121st overall, and a conditional sixth-round pick in the following years draft.
Admittedly, the Bills and Peters were at a bit of a standoff regarding his contract status—but the fact of the matter is—he had massively outperformed his deal since they moved him to a full-time starting role on the offensive line.
And the truth is—Peters got increasingly better each year. Seemingly week after week.
So, it was curious that they didn’t want to cut a deal with the guy that they had groomed from an undrafted free agent to a Pro Bowler.
But nevertheless, they accepted those picks, which netted them Danny Batten, a defensive end who recorded 24 tackles in three years with the Bills, Shawn Nelson, a tight end who played a wildly forgettable two seasons in Buffalo, and with the first-round pick they got Eric Wood—who was a respectable NFL player that earned himself a trip to the Pro Bowl in 2015.
Which is good… but he still needs eight more appearances to catch Peters!
Oh—and six All-Pro selections—and in all likelihood a Gold Jacket, which Peters should find himself wearing once he retires.
Sooo… yeah. Nice going Bills!
Marshawn Lynch
The Bills are no stranger to questionable trades though… In fact, just two years later—they dealt with another potential future Hall of Famer, Marshawn Lynch.
Unlike Peters, Buffalo had already invested a sizable degree of resources, specifically the 12th overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, in obtaining Lynch.
This makes it all the more damning that they were willing to part ways with him for just two late-round picks from the Seahawks, a fourth and fifth-rounder.
In fairness to Buffalo, Lynch’s value had started to decline a bit by the time they dealt him. After back-to-back 1000-yard rushing seasons to start his career, he ran into a couple of legal and injury issues that ultimately led to him taking a back seat to Fred Jackson in the Bills’ backfield.
Buffalo saw this as all the more reason to try and recoup something for Lynch, as it was unlikely that they were going to re-sign him the following offseason anyway…
But still! You have to think that they were watching with more than a tinge of regret when he blossomed into Beast Mode in Seattle.
For almost half a decade, which is an eternity in running back years, Lynch was one of the most dynamic, punishing runners the NFL had to offer. And while he was in Seattle, he earned two all pros, four Pro Bowls, led the league in rushing touchdowns twice, and of course, helped the Seahawks to one… and nearly two Super Bowl championships!
Jerome Bettis
Lynch is not the only bruising running back that we have seen a team mourn the decision to trade…
I might be dating myself here—but how about back in 1996, when the then St. Louis Rams, decided to part with their former first-round pick—a halfback from Notre Dame, who you might remember from his exploits with the other team involved in this deal, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Of course, I am talking about “The Bus,” Jerome Bettis!
Bettis was good during his time as a Ram, particularly during his first seasons in the league when he earned Rookie of the Year honors, rushing for 1,429 yards and seven touchdowns. He followed that up with a 1,025-yard season—before falling off in year three when his new coach, Rich Brooks instituted a super pass-heavy offense.
Brooks then essentially pushed Bettis out of town, by telling him they would either trade him or he had to switch to fullback, so they could go out and draft then Nebraska running back, Lawrence Phillips.
We don’t need to dive into Phillips’ sad story—but let’s just say he never really panned out…
Anyways! Bettis was subsequently traded to Pittsburgh, along with a third-round pick in the 1996 NFL Draft, in exchange for the Steelers’ second-round pick and their fourth-round pick in the following year’s Draft.
While there was some consternation from both the fans and the media in the Steel City, as some mistakenly felt that Bettis’ best years were behind him—the bull of a running back immediately regained peak form, rushing for 1,431 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first year as a Steeler.
He followed that up with four more 1,000-yard seasons after that—and retired in 5th on the Steelers’ all-time rushing yards list—also having won a Lombardi Trophy in his final season.
Not a bad resume for a guy that the Rams felt they could deal for only two mid-tier picks!
Bettis’ impact in Pittsburgh goes far beyond the counting numbers, the accolades, and even the championship!
He truly was an icon in the city—and will go down in the history books as one of the most impactful Steelers to ever don the black and yellow.
Brett Favre
Kind of like Brett Favre, who like Bettis, has the unique distinction of having been traded early in his career.
Yes, it might come as a surprise to some of our younger fans, but one of the most famous Green Bay Packers—and football players in general—to ever play the game didn’t actually start his career in the iconic green and gold.
But rather in Atlanta, as a member of the Falcons.
Favre, a former 33rd overall pick for Atlanta, hardly suited up as a member of the team… In fact he got into just two games—during which he threw two interceptions and completed zero of four passes, before the team had decided they’d seen enough.
Atlanta dealt him to the Packers in exchange for a first-round pick that GM Ron Wolf had acquired from the Philadelphia Eagles.
Apparently, Wolf had long been after Favre. During his previous role, as an assistant to the GM of the New York Jets, he was hoping to take Favre in the ’91 Draft, but he was snapped up by the Falcons on the previous pick.
As I am sure most of you know, Favre went on to have a long and storied career with the Packers. He played 16 years for Green Bay, helping the Packers to two Super Bowls, winning one, and taking home three consecutive regular season MVP awards during that stretch.
While his exit from Green Bay wasn’t pretty, it seems that the fans and the city have forgiven him—and Favre will no doubt go down as one of the franchise’s true legends.
Bet Atlanta wishes they hadn’t quit on him quite so fast!
What are you going to do? The Falcons are going to Falcon!
Steve Largent
Steve Largent is another Hall of Famer, who a team—in this case, the then Houston Oilers—made the mistake of trading, only to watch him become a legend in another city.
After drafting him with their fourth-round pick in the ’76 Draft, Houston watched Largent play in just four preseason games before deciding they had seen enough.
The Oilers were all set to cut him when they got an offer from the expansion Seahawks… An eighth-round pick wasn’t much, but considering they saw no use for him, it was better than nothing.
And off to Seattle Largent went—where he would become a five-time All-Pro and seven-time Pro Bowler, who led the league in receiving yards twice, en route to enshrinement in Canton.
Obviously a regrettable decision for the franchise!
Moving to the defensive side of the ball, we have seen two elite pass rushers dealt—only to see the teams that traded them live to regret the decision.
Khalil Mack
While the Raiders seemed smart to sell high on Khalil Mack at the time, the fact of the matter is that it pretty much took them till this year to get a respectable pass rush again…
And it doesn’t help that the best player they got out of the picks was Josh Jacobs, who while talented, is often injured and plays at arguably the most replaceable position in the game, running back.
Charles Haley
Similarly, the San Francisco 49ers traded Charles Haley to the Dallas Cowboys, where his unique brand of psychosis was leveraged to help beat those same Niners, while both teams were serious Super Bowl contenders!
Now, to be fair to San Fran… Haley had a way of wearing out his welcome in places… So, I don’t necessarily blame them for parting ways with the talented, but troubled edge rusher…
But still, you have to think they were regretting the decision to trade him when he started wreaking havoc in their backfield the following season.
Fred Dean
Last but not least, we have an honorary old-timer on the list… When the Chargers traded Fred Dean to the 49ers, following a contract dispute with ownership.
During his tenure in San Diego, Dean had really established himself as a focal point of that fearsome Chargers defense, but ownership felt they didn’t need to pay him.
The Niners doubled his salary after the trade and he rewarded the franchise handsomely, helping them to two Super Bowl championships during his time in the Bay Area.
The trade has since been referred to as “perhaps the biggest blunder in franchise history” for the Chargers. So… yeah… Safe bet that whoever pulled the trigger on that deal rued the decision. Especially after watching Dean emerge as a true Hall of Fame talent in San Francisco!
