The Denver Broncos announced Monday that they will release Russell Wilson next week, officially acknowledging their disastrous decision to trade the former Super Bowl quarterback in 2022.
After giving up five draft picks and three players to acquire Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, the Broncos signed the quarterback to a massive five-year, $242.6 million extension before he even participated in practice Contract. In two seasons, Wilson appeared in 30 games, had an 11-19 record, and never made the playoffs. He was benched in late December, in part due to poor performance, but also because of financial implications and concerns that Wilson would get injured and trigger the 2024 guarantee.
Wilson’s acquisition and subsequent extension will forever rank as one of the worst trades for a veteran quarterback in NFL history. The Broncos will have a dead cap hit of $85 million spread between this year and next after releasing Wilson.
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But NFL history is filled with cautionary tales of historically bad quarterback moves.
People always think of the Dolphins’ failed Daunte Culpepper experiment in 2006. Miami exacerbated this error in judgment by deciding to acquire Culpeper from Minnesota for a second-round pick and counting on the quarterback recovering from knee surgery before free agent Drew Brees recovered from shoulder surgery. more effective. Culpepper only played four games before he clashed with head coach Nick Saban and got injured. Brees signed with the Saints and became a future Hall of Famer.
The Browns are venturing close to regrettable territory with Deshaun Watson entering his third year. They’re still waiting for a return on his investment, which includes three first-round picks, two second-round picks, a fourth-round pick and an unprecedented $230 million fully guaranteed contract. Can Watson change the narrative? The 2024 season may provide the answer.
But with the book now closed on Wilson and the Broncos, let’s rank the 10 worst trades for veteran quarterbacks over the past 35 years. (We’ll leave the draft-day trades of college stars-turned-NFL busts for another day.)
10. Carson Palmer to Raiders for first- and second-round picks (2011)
When the Bengals decided to end the Palmer era and turn to Andy Dalton, Palmer’s former Bengals assistant coach and current Raiders head coach Hue Jackson and his team were the buyers. However, Palmer had two forgettable years in Oakland. He played in just nine games in 2011, going 4-5, and then became a starter in 2012, going 4-11. Palmer did resurrect his career with four solid seasons in five years at Arizona, including a 13-3 Pro Bowl season. In 2015, the Raiders didn’t play like they had in the past.
9. Brad Johnson went to Washington and finished first, second and third (1999)
After a swing and miss from Heath Shuler and a brief rotation with Gus Frerotte/Trent Green, Washington thought it had found Johnson, Warren Moon’s backup in Minnesota. Johnson did make the Pro Bowl in his first season with Washington, but Dan Snyder was playing fantasy football the next offseason and wanted Jeff George to be that guy. Johnson retired after just two years and headed to Tampa Bay, where he helped win the Super Bowl. Minnesota used its first-round pick to select Culpepper, who was an MVP candidate before suffering a devastating knee injury.washington still Haven’t found a franchise quarterback yet.
8. Carson Wentz joins Colts, conditional second, third pick (2021)
Philadelphia’s highly regarded quarterback was a 2017 MVP candidate until he suffered a season-ending knee injury, and Wentz never regained his form after watching Nick Foles lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory. . However, his inconsistent performance upon his return did not scare away the Colts. They thought a reunion with former Eagles offensive coordinator and then-Indianapolis head coach Frank Reich would help Wentz regain form. But the team struggled during a mediocre 9-8 season in 2021, leading owner Jim Irsay to become dissatisfied with Wentz after one season. The Colts did convince Washington to give up two third-round picks and trade a second-round pick in 2022 for Wentz. But they could certainly use the draft picks that landed the Hawks DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Jalen Carter.
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7. Drew Bledsoe first with Bills (2002)
Tom Brady’s meteoric rise resulted in Bledsoe, the 1993 No. 1 pick, being sacrificed in the 2001 offseason. In a display of hubris, Bill Belichick traded Bledsoe within the department, and the Bills eventually found out why. Bledsoe posted 8-8, 6-10 and 9-7 records as a starter while throwing 55 touchdowns and 43 interceptions, but did not participate in the playoffs.
6. Rob Johnson hits first and fourth for Bills (1998)
The Bills decided to trade Bledsoe to make amends for their previous missteps – deciding to send first- and fourth-round picks to Jacksonville for Johnson, a fourth-round pick in 1995 who went 1- 0 grade as a starter. The Jaguars have played just eight games. Johnson was named Buffalo’s starting quarterback after signing a five-year, $25 million deal, but he compiled just a 9-17 record in four seasons.
5. Brett Favre first joined the Packers (1992)
Unlike the previous trades referenced here, where teams took foolish gambles and paid top dollar for bad trades, this is an example of a team not understanding the talent it has on hand. The Falcons drafted Favre in the second round in 1991, much to the dismay of then-head coach Jerry Glanville. Favre’s first pass in the NFL was against the pick six, and he only attempted three other passes the rest of his rookie season. The Falcons then sent the future Hall of Famer to Green Bay for the 17th overall pick in the 1992 draft, and the rest is history.
Rick Mirer was a star at Notre Dame but failed miserably at quarterback in the NFL. (Scott Halleran/Allsport)
4. Rick Mirer first joined the Bears (1997)
The No. 2 pick in the 1993 draft, Miller had a very disappointing season in Seattle, going 20-31 in four seasons while throwing for 41 touchdowns and 56 interceptions. For some reason, Chicago thought the former Notre Dame star was worthy of a first-round pick in 1997. But Mirrell went 0-3 as a starter after throwing 0 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. The Bears granted his release request the following offseason.
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3. Chris Chandler first joined the Buccaneers (1990)
In 1987, the Buccaneers made the unfortunate decision to trade Steve Young to the 49ers and draft his replacement, Vinny Testaverde, with the No. 1 pick. But just two seasons later, the Buccaneers sent the second pick to Indianapolis for Chandler, who went 10-6 in two seasons with the Colts. Chandler went 0-6 in two seasons with the Buccaneers.
2. Jeff George had two first-place finishes and a third for the Falcons (1994)
In 1990, George was selected by Indianapolis as the No. 1 pick. He had a pair of thick arms, but achieved a record of 14 wins and 35 losses in four seasons, while passing 41 touchdowns and 46 interceptions. Convinced that the Colts’ poor roster was to blame, the Falcons shipped a boatload of draft picks to Indianapolis in 1994, two years after trading Favre. In 1995, George did help Atlanta end its four-year playoff drought. But he clashed with head coach Jon Jones and compiled a 16-19 record with 50 touchdowns and 32 interceptions before signing with Oakland after the 1996 season.
1. Russell Wilson grabs two No. 1s, two No. 2s, a No. 5 and three picks (including quarterback Drew Lock) for the Denver Nuggets (2022)
Believing they had a Super Bowl-caliber roster missing just one quarterback, the Broncos mortgaged their future with draft picks, players and an obscene amount of cap space to acquire Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and Won the Lombardi Trophy. Then-head coach Nathaniel Hackett (Aaron Rodgers’ former offensive coordinator in Green Bay) was supposed to help extend Wilson’s career.
But Wilson’s best days are clearly behind him. In 2022, he completed a career-low 60.5% of his passes, throwing just 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, and the Broncos were 5-12. Hackett was fired after 15 games. Sean Payton took over as Broncos head coach in February 2023 and arrogantly blamed the departed Hackett for Wilson and the Broncos’ woes. But midway through the season, Payton soured on Wilson, and he and the Broncos threatened to bench the quarterback if he didn’t agree to a contract change. Wilson declined and remained the starter until the final two weeks of the season.
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He did post a better record (7-8) and completion percentage (66.4) in 2023, but Denver’s offense didn’t start to improve until Payton switched to a run-oriented offense to reduce Wilson’s workload. Wilson finished the season with a career-low 3,070 passing yards and 26 touchdowns to eight interceptions. Now he’s looking for another fresh start as the Broncos try to rebuild without quality draft picks and limited cap space.
(Top photo of Carson Palmer, Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz: Streeter Lecka, Dustin Bradford and Andy Lyon/Getty Images)
