Jadeveon Clowney is going to be a Seattle Seahawk, thanks to a trade with the Houston Texans. The first overall pick in 2014 out of South Carolina, Clowney is signing his tender and will be on his second team. Got us thinking about some of the other times a first pick in the NFL Draft in the Super Bowl era has been traded.
Jim Plunkett
On April 5, 1976, Patriots traded Jim Plunkett to the 49ers, the deal contingent on the QB signing a contract with SF. The Patriots got in return: two 1976 first round draft picks (#12 and #21), one 1977 first round draft pick (#16), one 1977 second round draft pick (#44) and QB Tom Owen.
Walt Patulski
Walt Patulski played four years (1972–1975) with the Bills after being chosen No. 1 out of Notre Dame. He was traded to the Cardinals for a second-round draft pick, and played one year with the St. Louis before suffering career-ending knee injury.
John Matuszak
John Matuszak was the first draft pick of 1973 by Houston. In addition to his contract with the Oilers, he joined the Houston Texans of the World Football League (WFL), playing a total of seven plays before a restraining order was served to him during a game, barring him from playing for two teams at the same time. The Oilers eventually traded him to the Kansas City Chiefs for Curley Culp and a first-round draft choice in 1975 on Oct, 22, 1974.
Earl Campbell
To get Earl Campbell from Houston, Bum Phillips gave away Saints’ first-round draft pick in 1985.
Tom Cousineau
Tom Cousineau was traded from the Bills to the Cleveland Browns for a first-round draft choice (14th overall) in the 1983 NFL Draft, plus a second and a third draft choice in subsequent years. That first-round pick was used on future Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly.
George Rogers
On April 26, 1985, George Rogers was traded to the Washington Redskins together with the Saints’ fifth-, 10th- and 11th-round selections in the 1985 NFL Draft in return for the Redskins first-round pick.
John Elway
On May 2 1983, Colts owner Robert Irsay agreed to trade John Elway for Chris Hinton, backup quarterback Mark Herrmann, and a first-round pick in the 1984 Draft, which turned into offensive lineman Ron Solt.
Irving Fryar
In 1993, the Patriots traded Irving Fryar to the Miami Dolphins for two draft picks — a second-round choice in 1993 and a third-round pick in ’94.
Jeff George
The Colts traded George to the Atlanta Falcons after the 1993 season.
Drew Bledsoe
From The New York Times: The New England Patriots traded quarterback Drew Bledsoe to the Buffalo Bills in 2002 after a nine-year career in which he rewrote the team’s record book but watched from the sideline while his former backup led the franchise to its first Super Bowl championship. The Patriots will get Buffalo’s first-round pick in 2003. New England had been trying to trade Bledsoe since Tom Brady, a former fourth-stringer who inherited the starting job when Bledsoe was injured, led the team to an improbable 20-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
Dan Wilkinson
Four years after making Dan Wilkinson the No. 1 pick in the 1994 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals traded him to the Washington Redskins for a first-round choice and a third-round pick in the 1998 draft.
Keyshawn Johnson
Keyshawn Johnson was traded by the New York Jets on April 12, 2000, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for two first round draft choices (13th – John Abraham – and 27th – Anthony Becht – overall) in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Carson Palmer
Part of two trades:
First, while holding out, Carson Palmer was traded by the Bengals to the Oakland Raiders. Later, Palmer was traded from the Oakland Raiders to the Arizona Cardinals in a deal that includes the swap of 2013 draft picks and a conditional pick in 2014.
Alex Smith
In 2013, San Francisco traded Alex Smith to the Chiefs for a second-round pick, 34th overall, in this year’s draft and a conditional pick in next year’s draft. The Washington Redskins and Kansas City Chiefs engaged in a blockbuster in the 2018 offseason. The Redskins acquired Smith, who subsequently suffered a horrible leg injury in a game.
Sam Bradford
On March 10, 2015, Sam Bradford was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles by the Rams along with a 2015 fifth round pick, in exchange for Nick Foles, a 2015 fourth-round pick, and a 2016 second-round pick. The Vikings acquired Bradford from the Eagles in 2016 for a first-round pick in 2017 and an additional pick in 2018.
