TOP 10 WORST TRADES IN NFL HISTORY
Trading is very common in sports. Professional sports are more than just a game, they are a business. Many transactions go into building a contending team, whether it be signing free agents, drafting rookies, or trading players. A trade can completely make or break a team, you could acquire the missing piece you so desperately need, or you could give up way too much for a player who doesn’t produce.
The 2021 Los Angeles Rams built a championship winning team through clever and savvy trades. What makes for a bad trade though? History is littered with instances of teams trading valuable draft picks and/or key players only to be left hanging high and dry. It may be that they aggressively pursued a good player who was past their prime, or a young player with a high ceiling who never lived up to their potential. Either way, when a team believes a player to be their savior or franchise cornerstone, there’s no telling what they’ll give up.
10. The LeSean McCoy Trade
This trade didn’t make sense then, doesn’t make sense now, it will never make sense no matter how you look at it. The Philadelphia Eagles drafted LeSean McCoy 53rd overall in 2009, and he was the centerpiece of their offense for half a decade. McCoy led the league in rushing touchdowns (17) in 2011, and led the league in rushing yards (1,607) in 2013. The shifty running back reached the hit-the-wall age of 26, but still had a lot of good football left in him. AND THIS is why you don’t let your coaches double as GMs. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly, who had a splintered relationship with the franchise player, traded McCoy on March 10, 2015 to the Buffalo Bills. Well McCoy had some mileage on him but Kelly probably still got a decent haul for him right? Wrong!
Chip Kelly traded LeSean McCoy, who was coming off his third Pro Bowl season, to the Bills in exchange for Kiko Alonso. The young linebacker had played for Kelly at Oregon, he was a second round draft pick in 2013. While 159 tackles, 2 sacks and 4 interceptions had made for an impressive rookie season, Alonso missed the entire 2014 season. So there you have it, Chip Kelly traded the best player on his team for one of his former college players. It’s been nearly eight years and I’m still in shock at the audacity and blatant nepotism.
Just how disastrous was this trade? After all, Alonso had shown a lot of potential as a rookie. Unfortunately, his rookie season was his best. Alonso only played 11 games for the Eagles, Kelly would be fired before the end of the season, and the trio of burnt out running backs Philly hitched their wagon to got them nowhere. DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, and Darren Sproles combined for 1,558 rushing yards. McCoy had rushed for 1,319 yards himself just the year before. McCoy played four seasons for the Bills, tallying 5,148 total scrimmage yards and 30 touchdowns while adding three more Pro Bowl honors to his name. McCoy would retire after the 2020 season having won Super Bowls with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame 2010’s All-Decade Team.
Moral of the story; Don’t give your head coach full power over personnel
Spoiler; This will be a recurring theme
9. The DeAndre Hopkins Trade
Speaking of the aforementioned recurring theme, on March 16, 2020 the Houston Texans traded DeAndre Hopkins. Now when I say the Texans traded D-Hop, what I really mean is head coach/general manager Bill O’Brien pulled the trigger on this…beyond questionable personnel move, not realizing the gun was aimed directly at his foot. O’Brien made the same mistakes that all Bill Belichick disciples make, which was attempting to BE Belichick. O’Brien was given the same power that Belichick had in New England, but had no idea what to do with it.
The Texans had drafted Hopkins with the 27th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft. From 2013 to 2019 Hopkins would average 90 receptions 1,228 yards and roughly 8 touchdowns per season for the Texans. Here’s the kicker, the Texans didn’t draft their franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson until 2017, Hopkins’ quarterbacks prior were; Matt Schaub, Case Keenum, T.J. Yates, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mallett, Tom Savage, Brian Hoyer, Brandon Weeden, and Brock Osweiler…not a single Pro Bowler to be found on this island of misfit QBs (Technically Schaub was a two-time Pro Bowl quarterback but that was before Hopkins’ time). The fact that Hopkins still managed Pro Bowl & All-Pro seasons during that span is a true testimony to his productivity. Hopkins and Watson were a match made in heaven, two former Clemson Tigers wreaking havoc on secondaries. Hopkins reached a career high 1,572 receiving yards in 2018, but was traded to the Arizona Cardinals after his third straight All-Pro season in 2019.
Hopkins was only 27 going on 28, he was peaking just as his QB was coming of age, but O’Brien still traded him. What did O’Brien get for one of the best receivers of his generation? A 29-year old declining running back…David Johnson. Now Johnson had led the league in touchdowns and total yards from scrimmage, but that was in 2016. Hopkins, and a fourth round draft pick were traded for Johnson, a second round pick, and a fourth rounder the following year. So how’d that work out for Ol’ Bill? He was fired just four games into the 2020 season. Yeah, that’s about how I would’ve expected it to work out. The Texans went 4-12, Johnson only rushed for 919 yards and 6 touchdowns during his two-year tenure in Houston. As for Hopkins, he recorded 1,407 receiving yards in his first season with the Cardinals. Showing that he was still a top tier wide receiver.
8. The Steve Tensi Trade
The eligibility of this trade on a list of NFL trades can be contested. Technically this trade took place between the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos of the American Football League. So why am I including it on this list? The trade went through in 1967, and included draft picks in 1968 & 1969. While the NFL and AFL did not officially merge together until after the 1969 season, they had begun sharing a singular draft in 1967 as opposed to both leagues holding two separate drafts and bidding for players. Therefore I’m counting it.
Tensi spent the first two seasons of his career serving as John Hadl’s back-up in San Diego. Despite an 0-2 record as a starter, Tensi was the first QB in the last five years to throw 4 touchdown passes in his first career start. In 1966 the Denver Broncos paraded an inconspicuous cast of journeyman quarterbacks onto the field, and went 4-10. In ‘67 new head coach/general manager Lou Saban attempted to solve the quarterback problem. He traded a first round pick in ‘68 and a first round pick in ‘69 for the Chargers back-up. Granted draft picks in that era weren’t as universally valued as they are today, that’s still a lot to give up for a QB with only two career starts.
What made Tensi so enticing? He was 6’5” which is a good height today, great height in 1967. He had a strong arm, he could really let it rip when he had time, unfortunately time was something Tensi wouldn’t have in Denver. The porous pass protection of the Broncos left the imobile, peripheral-vision-challenged quarterback vulnerable. Tensi went 10-21-1 as a starter in Denver. The oft injured and barely apt passer only threw for more touchdowns than interceptions in one of his four seasons with the team that gave up such a haul to acquire him. As for those two first round picks they surrendered, they became the fourth and ninth overall picks in their respective drafts. In 1968 San Diego used the fourth overall pick they got from Denver on Russ Washington, a stellar 5-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle that the Broncos certainly needed.
7. The John Hadl Trade
Desperate men do desperate things, and in October of 1974 none were more desperate than Green Bay Packers head coach/general manager Dan Devine. It’s never easy to replace a legend, and while technically Devine was not the first coach to step in in place of Vince Lombardi, those massive shoes had remained unfilled after three years of Phil Bengtson. Devine was hired in 1971, the chosen one that would return Title Town to the winning ways they were not so far removed from. Devine entered the ‘74 season with a 19-19-4 record and a target on his back. He was on the chopping block and he knew it.
After starting the season 3-4, Devine began to feel the heat from being on the hot seat. His job was on the line, so he committed the front office equivalent of throwing a hail mary. Knowing his team’s biggest weakness was the disastrous quarterback duo of Jerry Tagge and Jack Concannon, Devine swung a trade for 6-time Pro Bowler John Hadl. Hadl was one of the best of his generation, a former AFL Champion playing in Sid Gillman’s revolutionary pass-happy offense in San Diego…in the sixties. Playing for the LA Rams at the age of 34 Hadl was far from a franchise’s saving grace. And what did the pink slip fearing coach give up for him? A first, second, and third round draft pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, as well as first and second round selections in ‘76. If you thought that the Raiders trading a first and second rounder for Carson Palmer in 2011 was bad, this was ten times worse.
To be fair, Hadl was coming off a stellar season that saw him place second in MVP voting. Hadl also knew why he was there, saying of Devine “he was in trouble and trying to save his job.” He helped the struggling ‘74 Packers rattle off three wins in a row, but they would lose their final three games of the season. Green Bay finished 6-8, and Hadl threw 3 touchdown passes and 8 interceptions in the process. Obviously Devine was fired, but because there is no justice in the world Devine landed on his feet as the head coach at Notre Dame. He destroyed the future of one of the most prestigious franchises in the NFL, and was rewarded with the head coaching job at one of the most prestigious college football programs. The Packers kept Hadl as their starter for 1975, but moved on after Hadl went 4-9, with 6 passing touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
6. The Steve Young Trade
This trade looks…well “bad” doesn’t quite tell the story, it looks downright sinful on paper. In hindsight the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were straight up swindled by the San Francisco 49ers, but that wasn’t the initial reaction at the time. Steve Young had been drafted 1st overall in the 1984 Supplemental Draft. After initially choosing to play for the USFL’s Los Angeles Express, Young took over as the Bucs starter in 1985. The highly intelligent, uber athletic quarterback got off to a rough start in Tampa. On an absolutely talent-deprived roster, Young went 3-16 as a starter, completed 53.3% of his passes, boasted a passer rating of 63.1, and threw 11 touchdowns vs 21 interceptions.
Head coach Leeman Bennett was fired, signaling a paradigm shift. The Bucs were ready to move on from the Steve Young experiment, opting to use the number one pick of the ‘87 draft on the 6' 5 " University of Miami signal caller Vinny Testaverde. Meanwhile, clear across the country, the San Francisco 49ers were looking for a QB. Joe Montana had won two Super Bowls for the franchise, but was now 30 years old, and was coming off a down year in which he was injured. Head coach Bill Walsh identified Steve Young as a viable insurance policy. The 49ers traded a second and a fourth round pick in the ‘87 draft for the “project quarterback”.
Young’s arrival lit a fire under Montana’s ass, he played arguably his best season in 1989, and won two more Super Bowls for the Niners. When Young finally stepped in to fulfill his destiny as Montana’s successor in 1991 he led the league in passer rating six out of the next seven seasons. Young won a Super Bowl of his own along with two league MVP’s. The Bucs had a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest quarterbacks ever to play the game, and gave him away
5. The O.J. Simpson Trade
Regardless of how O.J. Simpson’s legacy has aged, he was undeniably one of the best running backs to ever play the game. In 1973 a 26-year old Simpson became the first running back in NFL history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark. The Juice O.J. Simpson, playing behind a stellar offensive line known as The Electric Company, rushed for a then record 2,003 yards. Simpson also ran away with the MVP, making a clean getaway.
In 1977 the San Francisco 49ers went 5-9, head coach Ken Meyer was canned. This made back-to-back seasons that the team had fired a head coach after only one season. The Niners were an anonymous ragtag group of no-names, a team lacking any star power. General Manager Joe Thomas set out to fix this problem by bringing in one of the greatest, and most popular players of his generation; O.J. Simpson. The problem, Simpson was now 30.
Running backs have the shortest shelf lives of any position in football, by the time they reach the age Simpson was, the wheels have fallen off. So what did Joe Thomas give up for the expired RB? Second and third round picks in 1978, plus the 49ers first round pick in 1979 (yikes), and a 2 & a 4 in 1980 (why?). The results were predictably disastrous. After mortgaging the club's future, Thomas fired first-time head coach Pete McCulley after only 9 games! The 49ers had gone 1-8 under McCulley, and 1-6 under offensive coordinator turned interim coach Fred O'Connor. The resulting 2-14 record in '78 meant that the first round pick San Fran had traded to Buffalo became the number one pick in the draft! Talk about adding insult to injury. The Bills used the pick on Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau. The highly sought after linebacker never played for Buffalo, choosing to sign with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes for double the money. As for Simpson, he only played two seasons in the Bay, he averaged only 45.8 yards per game (in 23 games played) and scored 6 total touchdowns.
4. The Ryan Leaf Trade
In 1997 the San Diego Chargers went 5-11 with ‘94 Super Bowl tourist* Stan Humphries, Pacific alum Craig Whelihan, and the empty shell of Jim Everett. The 1998 NFL Draft was headlined by two top-tier quarterback prospects; Tennessee’s Peyton Manning, and Washington State’s Ryan Leaf. The Chargers were sold on both, but they only held the third overall pick. To ensure that they got their quarterback of the future the Chargers traded their first round pick, their second round pick, their first round pick the following year, as well as linebacker Patrick Sapp & receiver Eric Metcalf to the Arizona Cardinals. All this to move up one spot from #3 to #2, just behind the Indianapolis Colts.
The question now was who will go #1? Manning had the pedigree, being the son of the greatest Saints QB pre-Drew Brees; Archie Manning. Peyton was by far the most pro-ready, he had the size and the work ethic, and then there was Leaf. Ryan Leaf was the epitome of the “project quarterback”. He had the same height as Peyton Manning, he had a stronger arm, he had more raw talent, but his flaws were overshadowing to those who paid attention. Leaf was immature, egotistical, and undisciplined. Ultimately the Colts selected Manning first overall, but the Chargers were not disappointed with their consultation prize…at first.
Ultimately Leaf would turn out to be the biggest draft bust in NFL history, from 1998 to 2000 he went 4-14 as the Chargers starter. The decision to give up so much to move up one spot backfired horribly. After going 1-15 in 2000, the Chargers moved on from Leaf and drafted Drew Brees in the second round of the 2001 draft. As for the Cardinals, Sapp & Metcalf didn’t last long in their new jerseys. Andre Wadsworth, the Florida State defensive end Arizona drafted with the third pick, would only play three seasons in the NFL. In 1999 the Cardinals used the Chargers first round pick (eighth overall) on Ohio State receiver David Boston, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2001 (1,598).
*I call Humphries a “Super Bowl tourist” because he did not lead the Chargers to their lone Super Bowl appearance, but rather he happened to be the starting QB.
3. The Bobby Layne Trade
The Bobby Layne trade, a transaction with disastrous repercussions of mythological proportions. How could one trade doom a franchise for over six decades? In 1950 Bobby Layne made his way to the Detroit Lions after having played for the Chicago Bears and New York Bulldogs. Layne became the Lions first true franchise quarterback, turning the club’s fortunes around. After having not won an NFL Championship since 1935, the Lions won back-to-back titles in 1952 & 1953. In both bouts the Lions had defeated the legendary Paul Brown-coached Cleveland Browns, who boasted the likes of Otto Graham, Marion Motley, Mac Speedie, and Lou Groza. The Browns would dominate the Lions in the 1954 NFL Championship, earning a measure of revenge and preventing a 3-peat.
Times were different in the fifties, but one thing wasn’t; it was fun to be the celebrity quarterback of the NFL’s best team. Layne enjoyed the night life, he partied, he drank, and he balled out on Sundays. He had a knack for getting his s*** together at just the right time, he could sober up just before the game, overcome fourth quarter deficits, and innovated the 2-minute offense. Layne earned four Pro Bowl honors and two 1st Team All-Pro honors during his time with the Lions, leading the league in passing yards twice and touchdowns once. Life was good…or at the very least it was perceived that way to those on the outside looking in. Behind closed doors dysfunction was running rampant.
When Layne turned 30, Lions head coach Buddy Parker traded for Green Bay signal caller Tobin Rote ahead of the 1957 season. Parker would, however, resign from the Lions not long afterwards. Parker cited the Lions (who boasted a 9-3 record the year before) lack of motivation as the reason why, claiming they were “a completely dead team”. Layne would be involved in a drunk driving incident before the start of the season as well. Despite the controversies, and a broken leg suffered by Layne, the Lions won the 1957 NFL Championship against the Browns thanks to 5 touchdowns from Tobin Rote. After uninspired performances in the first two games of 1958, as well as the antics of the polarizing QB wearing thin, the Lions traded Bobby Layne to the Pittsburgh Steelers. News of the Lions trading their beloved quarterback headlined over an auto workers strike in the Motor City. Who did the Lions get? A 24-year old quarterback named Earl Morrall and two draft picks. As for Layne, he was reunited with head coach Buddy Parker and made two more Pro Bowls in the waning years of his career.
What makes this one of the worst trades ever? On his way out the door an irate Layne claimed, “this team will not win for another 50 years”. What was deemed a throw away line from a disgruntled former player would turn into a nightmarish prophecy. The Lions have not won a championship since trading Layne back in 1958. In fact, the Lions have gone 1-12 in the playoffs since winning it all in ‘58. Greg Landry in 1971 is the only Lions quarterback to make a Pro Bowl in that time. It has come to be known as “The Curse of Bobby Layne”. This trade makes the list not because it was a bad business move on paper, but because it sparked the over half century damnation of an entire franchise.
2. The Ricky Williams Trade
The infamous Ricky Williams trade is one of the most bizarre, logic defying transactions in all of sports. Mike Ditka, noted head coach of the 1985 Super Bowl champion Chicago Bears, was entering his third season as head coach in New Orleans in 1999. Ditka’s Saints had gone 6-10 in each of his first two seasons, and Iron Mike was desperate to turn things around. The roster had holes everywhere, especially at quarterback where the Saints had fielded two different signal callers named Billy Joe. But rather than address the game’s most important position Ditka had eyes on another prize. He had been fortunate enough to coach one of the greatest running backs of all-time in Chicago; Walter Payton. In 1998 Texas running back Ricky Williams rushed for 2,124 yards and 27 touchdowns as he took home the Heisman Trophy. Ditka believed he had found his Walter Payton substitute.
Sitting on the 12th overall pick of the draft, Ditka proclaimed he would trade his entire draft for Williams. If the franchise knew what was to come they would have shoved that iconic cigar down his throat, lit and all, and duct taped his mouth shut. What happened next is…complex. While Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati drafted quarterbacks with the first three picks, and Indianapolis used the fourth pick on another running back (Hall of Famer Edgerrin James), Washington took Ditka up on his offer. The Saints traded their 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks in 1999, plus their 1st and 3rd round picks in 2000 to the Redskins in exchange for the 5th overall pick in ‘99. Ditka got his running back and an early night off, Washington got a king’s ransom.
Why is this such a bad trade…besides the obvious? Because nobody wins. Washington took the 12th overall pick they got from New Orleans, along with the 3rd round pick and two of their own picks and traded them to Chicago to move back up to the 7th spot and draft Georgia DB Champ Bailey. They used the 4th rounder on Nate Stimson. Washington traded their own 2nd round pick along with New Orleans’ 5th round pick to Chicago again to move up for right tackle Jon Jansen. They traded New Orleans’ 6th and 7th round picks to Denver to move up in the 5th round for Derek Smith. After the Saints went 3-13 in 1999 they fired Ditka, and the first round pick they traded to Washington became the 2nd overall pick of the draft. Washington used that pick on linebacker LaVar Arrington. And the final piece of the puzzle, Washington used the 2000 3rd round pick on Lloyd Harrison.
Ricky Williams played three seasons in New Orleans before being traded to the Miami Dolphins. As for Washington, their ‘99 draft class consisted of Champ Bailey, Jon Jansen, Nate Stimson, Derek Smith, Jeff Hall, and Tim Alexander. While Bailey blossomed into a Hall of Fame defensive back, and Jansen anchored the o-line for nine years earning 2nd Team All-Pro honors, Stinson, Smith, Hall, and Alexander all combined to play just three games in the NFL. Arrington was also a centerpiece of the franchise for years to come, but none of the other players involved made an impact. Even the players Denver and Chicago walked away with on the side were inconsequential. Washington went 10-6 in 1999 but despite pulling off a bigger heist than Ben Stiller, they wouldn’t have another winning season until 2005
1. The Herschel Walker Trade
If you are a Dallas Cowboys fan then first of all, it’s not your year, secondly the Herschel Walker trade is the greatest trade ever. If you are among any of the other 31 fan bases, it’s the worst trade of all-time. This is the most lopsided trade in all of professional sports, if the Walker trade was the Trojan horse, then Minnesota was Troy.
Walker was one of the greatest running backs in college football history, from 1980 to 1982 he placed 3rd, 2nd, and 1st in Heisman voting. The Heisman winner signed with the USFL’s New Jersey Generals. In 1985 he rushed for 2,411 yards and 21 touchdowns. He joined the Dallas Cowboys in 1986, pairing him up with fellow Heisman Trophy winning running back Tony Dorsett. Walker assumed the lead back role in 1988, rushing for 1,514 yards. In 1989 Jerry Jones bought the team and hired Jimmy Johnson as the head coach and head of player personnel. Johnson proceeded to swing a fortune-of-the-franchise-altering move; five games into the season the head coach of the worst team in the league traded his best player. Walker was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, a team with a good defense but whose offense didn’t pull its weight.
Part of the trade saw Minnesota send a consolation running back, i.e. Darrin Nelson, to Dallas only for the Cowboys to immediately move him to San Diego in exchange for a draft pick that they sent back to the Vikings. In all Minnesota received; Walker, a 3rd, a 5th (from San Diego), and a 10th round pick in 1990, plus a 3rd round pick in 1991. Dallas received; linebackers Jesse Solomon & David Howard, cornerback Issiac Holt, and defensive end Alex Stewart. Along with Minnesota's 1st, 2nd & 6th round picks in 1990, Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1991 (conditional on cutting Solomon), Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1991 (conditional on cutting Howard), Minnesota's 1st round pick in 1992 (conditional on cutting Holt), Minnesota's 2nd round pick in 1992 (condition met by trading away Nelson), and finally Minnesota's 3rd round pick in 1992 (conditional on cutting Stewart).
By the end of the season Johnson would cut all the players he got from Minnesota in order to get the draft picks, which laid the foundation for the Cowboys dynasty of the nineties. Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, and Darren Woodson are a few of the key players that Dallas ultimately milked the Herschel Walker cash cow for. Meanwhile Walker only played 42 games for the Vikings, and never surpassed 1,000 yards with the club. Absolutely criminal.
NEXT FIVE OUT
11. The Russell Wilson Trade
Russell Wilson was one of the most efficient quarterbacks of the 2010’s, making two Super Bowl appearances and winning one. After seemingly succumbing to his own ego he requested a trade from the Seattle Seahawks. Seattle traded the diva QB to the Denver Broncos in exchange for QB Drew Lock, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, tight end Noah Fant, and multiple draft picks. While Denver was expected to be a contender in 2022 following the trade, the team went 5-12. Meanwhile Seattle went 9-8 and made the playoffs with Wilson’s former backup Geno Smith.
12. The Trent Richardson Trade
In 2011 bruising Alabama Crimson Tide running back Trent Richardson racked up 2,017 yards of scrimmage, placing third in Heisman voting. The Cleveland Browns were impressed, and used the third overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft on the prospect that some scouts believed could be the next Jim Brown…*stifled laughter*. Richardson had an impressive rookie season rushing for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns. Two games into the 2013 season Cleveland traded Richardson to the Indianapolis Colts for a first round draft pick. Richardson proceeded to lose carries to Donld Brown. He had terrible field vision and was out of the league after 2014.
13. The Brett Favre Trade
In 1991 the Atlanta Falcons drafted Southern Mississippi QB Brett Favre in the second round. Atlanta’s bombastic head coach Jerry Glanville was not a fan. Glanville called Favre “Mississippi”, and claimed nothing short of an absolute tragedy (à la We Are Marshall) would make him play Favre. Atlanta traded the kid to Green Bay a year later for a first round draft pick. Favre went on to enjoy a legendary career that Atlanta could not have possibly predicted when they moved on from him so quickly.
14. The Clint Longley Trade
Clint Longley is a footnote in history, a brief yet entertaining story. On Thanksgiving, 1974 Longley replaced an injured Roger Staubach in a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins. The young gunslinger erased a 13-point deficit passing for 203 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game winner. In ‘76 Longley sucker punched Staubach and fled from team facilities. Dallas traded him along with a first round draft pick to the Chargers for a first round pick and a second round pick. Now…why on earth would you trade for a player that just assaulted a teammate, completely unprovoked? Ultimately Longley only started one game for the Chargers.
15. The Jerome Bettis Trade
Jerome Bettis won 1993 Offensive Rookie of the Year with the LA Rams, but fell out of favor fast. Bettis was traded after only three seasons. The Rams sent Bettis and a third round draft pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for second and fourth round picks. Bettis would go on to rush for 10,571 yards in ten years for the Steelers, winning a Super Bowl in his final season.
