Antonio Brown’s tumultuous relationship with the Pittsburgh Steelers is over. The wide receivee is being dealt to the Oakland Raiders for two mid-round draft picks a seemingly endless dispute. The Raiders are getting an incredible talent and, hopefully, will be able to manage the personality that comes with it. Here are some other huge trades that have happened in the NFL.
Brett Favre to the Jets
He was retired, then he wasn’t. He was, then he wasn’t. Finally, the Packers got tired of the same ol’ song-and-dance and shipped Brett Favre to the New York Jets. Different shade of green and with way less success.
Joe Montana to the Chiefs
Steve Young was taking over — or had taken over — in San Francisco. Joe Montana wasn’t ready to retire. So, the Niners dealt the all-time great to Kansas City. The 49ers traded the 36-year-old quarterback — along with safety David Whitmore and a 1994 third-round draft pick — to Kansas City for the Chiefs’ first-round selection in the 1993 NFL Draft.
Trent Richardson to the Colts
Trent Richardson was a top three selection of the Cleveland Browns in 2011. However, the Browns sensed he wasn’t going to be the generational RB they hoped they had drafted out of Alabama. They dealt him to the Colts in 2013 and Richardson’s career fizzled from there.
Randy Moss to the Vikings
Randy Moss was a man of many moves and moods. That led to him being dealt multiple times. The one addressed here is when the Patriots sent him to the Vikings. In 2010, the Vikings sent a third-round 2011 draft pick to the Patriots in return for Moss and New England’s seventh-round draft pick in 2012.
John Hadl to the Packers
In 1974, the Packers sent wo No. 1 draft choices, two No. 2 picks and a No. 3 to the Rams for John Hadl. Needless to say, it was another deal that came up short for the team getting the QB.
Marshawn Lynch to the Seahawks
The Bills were set to rebuild so they decided to send Marshawn Lynch packing. He wound up in Seattle for a couple draft picks. Beast Mode was born in the Northwest and Buffalo was left with a bad taste.
Carson Palmer to the Bengals
Carson Palmer and the Bengals were fractured. The QB was holding out. The Raiders to the rescue. They traded a 2012 first-round pick and a conditional second-rounder in 2013 for the quarterback.
Sam Bradford to the Vikings
Teddy Bridgewater was lost for the season with a brutal knee injury in 2016. The Vikings called the Eagles and the teams worked out a deal for Sam Bradford. The Eagles got picks and the Vikings had a stop-gap that did not pan out.
Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers
Jimmy Garoppolo was going to be the Next Big Thing in New England. Only issue is the Current Big Thing, Tom Brady, wasn’t and isn’t going anywhere. So, the 49ers struck a deal for Garoppolo. The jury is out on him as Garoppolo suffered a knee injury that cost him much of last season.
John Elway to the Broncos
Little trivia: In the Super Bowl era, one team has drafted quarterbacks in the first round in consecutive years. The Colts chose Art Schlichter out of Ohio State in 1982 — disaster — and followed by selecting John Elway No. 1 overall out of Stanford in ’83. Elway wanted no part of the Colts and was traded to Denver, where a glorious history ensued.
Ollie Matson to the Rams
A series of trades follows involving running backs and the Rams. Future NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle swung a massive trade in 1959, sending seven players and two picks to the Chicago Cardinals for running back Ollie Matson. The deal did not wind up giving a huge boost to either franchise.
Marshall Faulk to the Rams
The Rams came out on the sweet end of a deal when they acquired Marshall Faulk from the Colts for a pair of draft picks. Faulk became a vital cog in the Greatest Show on Turf.
Eric Dickerson to the Colts
The Colts sent two players and six draft picks to acquire Eric Dickerson from the Rams in 1987. The Colts also sent rookie linebacker Cornelius Bennett to Buffalo to acquire a player and three draft picks that ended up being part of the package to land Dickerson
Herschel Walker to the Vikings
Herschel Walker never was the player in the NFL that he was at Georgia. Still, the Vikings put together a massive package to land the running back from Dallas. As history has told everyone, it backfired on Minnesota.
Khalil Mack to the Bears
Jon Gruden returned to Oakland for an encore. For an opening act, there was a stalemate with Pro Bowl LB Khalil Mack. The dispute never was resolved and Mack wound up in Chicago as a star for the 2018 Bears.
Paul Warfield to the Dolphins
Paul Warfield was an elite and elegant player with the Cleveland Browns. He continued this level of play after being sent to the Miami Dolphins and becoming part of the great teams under Don Shula.
Jay Cutler to the Bears
Jay Cutler was an enigma. Never seemed to endear himself to home fan bases. Cutler was traded with the Broncos’ 2009 fifth-round draft pick to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Kyle Orton, the Bears’ first- and third-round selections in 2009, and first-round pick in 2010.
Terrell Owens to the Eagles
One of the most polarizing players in NFL history. Terrell Owens made many stops and great plays and controversy often followed. San Francisco sent the second-round pick it acquired in a March 4 trade with Baltimore back to the Ravens, then traded Owens to the Eagles for defensive end Brandon Whiting. The Ravens also got a fifth-round pick from the Eagles. Even his trades were dizzying.
Bobby Layne to the Steelers
Bobby Layne was generations ahead of himself when it came to reputation as a player on the field and a rabble-rouser off it. Still, when he was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers from the Detroit Lions, it was stunning. The Steelers acquired Layne and the Lions had quarterback Earl Morrall, who was the second pick in the 1956 draft, plus a pair of draft picks.
Jon Gruden to the Raiders
The Raiders wanted Jon Gruden, but he wasn’t available. So, what would a creative owner like Al Davis do? Why, work out a trade so he could get the coach he wanted from Tampa Bay.
Jerome Bettis to Steelers
On Draft Day in 1996, the Steelers sent second- and fourth-round picks to the Rams in exchange for a third-rounder and Jerone Bettis, who posted six straight 1,000-yard seasons on his way to the Hall of Fame.
Steve Young to the 49ers
In 1987, the 49ers traded a second-round pick, a fourth-round pick and $1 million to the Buccaneers for Steve Young. The quarterback out of BYU was 3-16 as a starter and had thrown 11 touchdowns and 21 interceptions in Tampa Bay. He went on to earn a spot in Canton with his performance in San Francisco.
Steve Largent to the Seahawks
The Houston Oilers traded Steve Largent, their fourth-round pick, to the Seattle Seahawks rather than cutting him. They didn’t expect much. Wrong. Largent went on to an amazing career in Seattle.
Brett Favre to the Packers
Brett Favre bookends this gallery. The quarterback was taken in the draft by the Atlanta Falcons but didn’t make a dent there. He was sent to Green Bay, where he starred for years and years. This trade worked out for the team in green.
