- in providing tax write-offs for the Haslam's corporate entities.

The Minnesota traded three first-round picks, three second-round picks, and a bunch of other stuff to get running back Herschel Walker. Later Walker would distinguish himself by running for a Georgia US Senate seat.

but he wasn't paid the same as Watson.

That was a horrible trade. And it helped Dallas win three Super Bowls.

Cowboys got 6 draft picks (which they parleyed into Darren Woodson, Russell Maryland, and Emmitt Smith, among others) and became one of the best teams in NFL history

Vikings got Walker and never got close to a Super Bowl.

Not sure if worse, but notably bad.

The Herschel Walker trade was the largest player trade in the history of the National Football League (NFL).[1] This deal on October 12, 1989, centered on sending running back Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. Including Walker and a transaction involving the San Diego Chargers, the trade eventually involved 18 players and draft picks.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herschel_Walker_trade

Bad trade for Boston.

Filters from the top down, you know?

who was very soon suspended for six game, later extended to eleven.

Dee Haslam.

Go Guards!

Paul Warfield for Mike Phipps. It took Don Shula about a heartbeat to take that
deal.

Warfield:
2× Super Bowl champion (VII, VIII)
NFL champion (1964)
2× First-team All-Pro (1971, 1973)
3× Second-team All-Pro (1968, 1970, 1972)
8× Pro Bowl (1964, 1968–1974)
2× NFL receiving touchdowns leader (1968, 1971)
NFL 1970s All-Decade Team
NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team
Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor
Miami Dolphins Honor Roll
Dolphins Walk of Fame (2011)
National champion (1961)
First-team All-American (1963)
2× First-team All-Big Ten (1962, 1963)
Hall of Fame

Don Shula the most career wins in NFL history & Hall of Fame.

but still, factor in Watson's guaranteed contract and suspension.

Oh, right. Sorry.

The Ricky Williams trade was bad. The Saints traded their 1st round (12th overall) their 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, their 1st and 3rd next year for the 5th overall, which they used to select Ricky Williams, who let’s just say did not have the kind of career that warranted that trade.

are the 2 but Watson's fully guaranteed 5 years is hard to top. The browns may, may be able to get out of it if they trade him along with their first rounder to a team who can cut him and only take 90M in dead money instead of 170+. The one that hurt me the most was the bears going up from 3 to 2 to draft mitch trubisky with Patrick mahomes on the board. Such a bears move. But not on this order of magnitude.

Both were seen as such high value that teams would throw in multiple first rounders and beyond for a running back.

And yet now, running backs are so devalued that they barely even rate a single first round pick anymore. Part of it is the emphasis on the passing game. Part of it is the realization that the shelf life of a RB is relatively short.

The game has changed. Which partly explains the insanity of the Watson deal. Just desperately trying to find the missing piece in the passing game. But it is lunacy to bet the farm on any single player. Especially one with so much baggage that has not played in a long time.

Even if you could justify the draft picks, the value of the contract and the fact that it was fully guaranteed is managerial malpractice. Any big bet needs a hedge but they are stick in that one for a long time. It will probably effect the quality of that team for at least a decade.

Denver Broncos traded two first-round picks (2022 -- No. 9 overall -- and 2023), two second-round picks (2022 & 2023) and a 2022 fifth-round pick along with quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant & defensive lineman Shelby Harris to the Seahawks for Russell Wilson and a 2022 fourth-round pick.

I would say the Herschel Walker trade was worse than the Deshaun Watson trade though and the Ricky Williams trade was at least close.

So when they cut him, that was quite the admission of an organizational screw up!

Deshaun Watson isn't very good, huh?

Panthers get: #1 overall (Bryce Young, who's already been benched)

Bears get: 2023 1st & 2nd, 2024 1st(#1 overall-Caleb Williams), 2025 2nd, WR DJ Moore

Thanks for sharing

Ryan Poles walks on water in Chicago these days for pulling off this trade, most lopsided in the NFL in decades. As a result, it looks like the Bears will challenge for the playoffs this year (they're in a brutally tough division, so we'll see) and the Panthers - who need a new QB, a host of defensive players and serious help on the offensive line - might have the worst record in the NFL again.

I'm sure he's getting direction from the front office/ownership on that front after all the money they invested in Watson. But it's a matter of flushing money and flushing the season down the drain.

Jameis Winston is waiting on the sidelines. His track record isn't the best, but he'd surely be a step up from Watson.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/41794330/kevin-stefanski-deshaun-watson-browns-best-chance-win

In September 2024, Jared Goff was traded from the Los Angeles Rams to the Detroit Lions in exchange for Matthew Stafford.

The Lions and the Vikings are now tied for first in their division.

Meanwhile, the Rams are bouncing around the cellar in their division

and the home crowd was cheering!

Link to tweet