NFL Trade Deadline: The 10 Biggest In-Season NFL Trades Ever

SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 27: Running back Marshawn Lynch #24 of the Seattle Seahawks rushes against defensive back Alan Ball #24 of the Chicago Bears at CenturyLink Field on September 27, 2015 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

After a nine-year coaching hiatus—most of which was spent serving as a color commentator on Monday Night Football—Jon Gruden returned to the league to become the Oakland Raiders’ head coach (again) in January 2018. And...boom! Gruden made his mark immediately. 

He traded star defensive end Khalil Mack to the Bears for a bevvy of picks, rattling the NFL. But Gruden wasn't done making polarizing moves.

After a 1-5 start, less than two months into the season, the new coach shipped off the Raiders’ other promising young star, Cooper. In exchange, Oakland received a first-round pick (No. 27 overall, which turned into safety Johnathan Abram, who is out for the season with a shoulder injury). Cooper helped the Cowboys to the playoffs and made that year’s Pro Bowl. He is not currently under contract for 2020, but Dallas has expressed its desire to hold onto all three of its young offensive weapons (Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, and Cooper).

You probably think of Eric Dickerson for his record-setting 1984 season, in which he had 2,105 rushing yards, still the most in a single season in NFL history. (Adrian Peterson came close in 2012 with 2,097, and Jamal Lewis did as well in 2003 with 2,066.) But did you know that three years later, Dickerson was a part of a massive three-team trade?

Dickerson was the star of the LA Rams, but he and the franchise got caught up in a contract dispute. The Colts, who just three years earlier had relocated to Indianapolis from Baltimore, were struggling as a franchise, and they looked to the dominant RB for new life. The move paid off as Dickerson led the team to a 6-3 finish and its first playoff berth in 10 years.

But the move worked out for the other sides involved, too. The Rams got TD machine RB Greg Bell, as well as two first-round and three second-round picks; and the Bills got linebacker Cornelius Bennett, a beast who helped Buffalo to its impressive run of four straight Super Bowls.

It seems like Van Noy has been with the Patriots forever at this point, doesn’t it? It’s hard to picture him in another uniform. And it’s even crazier to think that not long ago, he was viewed as an underachiever.

Van Noy was a second-round pick out of BYU by the Detroit Lions in 2014. During his first two-plus years in the league, he struggled to get on the field and was an occasional healthy scratch. He wasn’t a starter until his third season.

Midway through that season, the Lions cut their losses and sent Van Noy and a seventh-round pick to the Patriots for a sixth-round pick. Van Noy went on to earn a starting role with New England and become one of the pillars of the Patriots’ now-vaunted defense. In 2018, he had 92 tackles and helped the Pats to a Super Bowl title. The 28-year-old has 3.5 sacks in six games this season.

Expectations were high for Richardson, a star at Alabama, when he entered the NFL as the No. 3 overall pick in 2012. And despite struggling with injuries, he had a fruitful rookie season, rushing for 950 yards and 11 touchdowns and catching 51 passes for 367 yards and a score. He was viewed as one of the league’s best up-and-coming rushers and earned No. 71 in the NFL Rank ahead of his sophomore campaign.

So it was stunning to see him traded in September of his second season. But the Browns clearly knew something the rest of the league would soon figure out. The Colts were on the hunt for a replacement for the injured Vick Ballard, so they desperately coughed up a 2014 first-rounder for Richardson, who struggled that season and was benched for the one and only Donald Brown.

Indy ultimately waived Richardson, who never could maintain a role as the featured back, in March 2015. He most recently played in the Canadian Football League (2017) and Alliance of American Football (2019). The Browns used the pick they received as part of their move for Johnny Manziel...so, it didn’t exactly work out for either side. But it was a big move nonetheless.

The No. 12 overall pick in 2007, Lynch was a star in Buffalo. He eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark in each of his first two seasons and made the Pro Bowl in 2008. Bills Mafia couldn’t decide what they loved more about Lynch’s game, the ambiance or the decor. But his 2009 season was marred by a misdemeanor gun charge that led to a suspension, and his team established a loaded backfield with emerging stars Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller. 

Early in the 2010 season, Buffalo sent Lynch to Seattle for a fourth-round pick in 2011 and fifth-round pick in 2012. Those picks turned into O-lineman Chris Hairston and linebacker Tank Carder, neither of whom made an impact in the league.

Needless to say, Lynch proved to be worth much more. Beast Mode was an instant hit in Seattle. He eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing in four straight seasons and helped the Seahawks to a Super Bowl win over Denver in 2014 (and nearly another over New England in 2015). Lynch “retired” in 2015 before returning for two seasons with the Raiders in 2017 and 2018. Now he’s retired for real...we think.

Aqib Talib is one of the NFL’s defensive OGs at this point, but in 2013 he was still a young buck who had only played for one NFL team. After four seasons in Tampa Bay, Talib’s fifth was marred by a suspension for taking Adderall. 

In November of that season, with Talib’s contract set to expire and the team expecting him to bolt in free agency, Tampa traded the starting corner along with a seventh-round pick to New England for a fourth-rounder. The pick Tampa received turned into defensive end William Gholston, who is still playing for the Bucs and has started most of his games.

Meanwhile, Talib helped turn around New England’s dreadful secondary, which was one of the worst in the league. He was a lockdown corner for two years with the Patriots, making the Pro Bowl in 2013, the first of five straight appearances. Though the Patriots couldn’t get over the hump while he was in Foxborough, Talib went on to win a Super Bowl with the Broncos.

We don’t blame you if you forgot about Carson Palmer’s time as a Raider. He was a Bengal, of course, and a Cardinal...but a Raider? Yep. It definitely happened.

Palmer was the No. 1 overall pick in 2003 and was a stud for the Bengals early in his career. He even made the Pro Bowl in 2005 and 2006 and was the NFL's passing TD leader in 2005. But Palmer grew dissatisfied with the franchise and the relationship got very messy. When the Bengals drafted Andy Dalton in 2011, Palmer reportedly planned to retire. 

In October 2011, however, with Dalton leading Cincy to a 6-2 start and the Raiders losing starting QB Jason Campbell for the season, the Bengals and Oakland pulled off a deal. Palmer was happy to rejoin Hue Jackson, who was the OC in Oakland and had years earlier recruited him to USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2002.

Cincy received a 2012 first-rounder and 2013 second-rounder for Palmer, which turned into two solid players in corner Dre Kirkpatrick and running back Giovani Bernard. Palmer went 8-16 as the starter for Oakland (yikes) before being traded to Arizona, where he experienced much more success with weapons like Larry Fitzgerald. Palmer was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor in September.

Wait, who is this we’re talking about? Yep, we’re turning the calendar way back, but this trade was absolutely wild, so it merits a mention on this list.

The Packers sent an abundance of picks—two first-rounders, two second-rounders, and a third-rounder—to LA for Hadl, who was 34. Thirty-four! And...he was the Rams’ backup QB! Granted, Green Bay was desperate to find a signal-caller, but that’s asinine.

The Rams, as expected, used those picks to load up...and help fuel their seven straight NFC West titles in the 1970s. Hadl, meanwhile, was a bust in Green Bay. He played in 22 games and tossed 29 picks with nine touchdowns; the Pack went 7-15. Ouch.

Though his success in Green Bay was hindered by an absolute abomination of an offensive line, this is considered arguably the worst trade in NFL history. Years later, even Hadl said he couldn’t wrap his head around the deal.

Williams was regarded as one of the more physically imposing wide outs in the league, and in 2006 he hauled in 82 passes for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns. But he never fully lived up to his billing as the No. 7 overall pick following a decorated career at Texas. He always seemed on the cusp of becoming a star.

In 2008, the Lions were a complete mess. The team would go on to finish 0-16. They knew they had to tear things apart, and they had a young, up-and-coming wide out by the name of Calvin Johnson, so they sent Williams to Dallas for 2009 first, third, and sixth-round picks. Dallas imagined Roy Williams would take that next step with a change of scenery—as evidenced by that huge lot of picks they surrendered—but he continued to underachieve in Big D. 

He spent three seasons with the silver and navy and caught 94 passes in 40 total games. The Cowboys only reached the playoffs once in those three years and fell in the wild-card round. Meanwhile, the picks helped the lowly Lions rebuild for the Johnson-Stafford era.

We saved the biggest trade for last. Two teams in quite different situations were involved in this transaction. The Vikings appeared to be on the cusp of contending for a title. The Cowboys, meanwhile, were 0-5 and rebuilding under first-year coach Jimmy Johnson.

Walker had rushed for 1,514 yards in 1988, his third season. However, given its long-term mission to resurrect the franchise, Dallas decided to send out its only star. That decision netted a huge haul of draft picks that helped turn Dallas into the 1990s dynasty we all know.

So, what all did Dallas get for sending off its best player? Oh, just three first-rounders, three second-rounders, a third-rounder, and a sixth-rounder. Those picks turned into Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson, among others. Walker and the Vikings did have a good season in 1989 (they lost to the 49ers in the playoffs), but they struggled in the next two years before Walker signed with the Eagles. The Cowboys, meanwhile, casually won three Super Bowls in four seasons.