5 Worst Trades in NFL History ft. DeAndre Hopkins, Antonio Brown and more

Trades in the NFL are happening more than ever, and it seems that, this off-season, we are seeing more blockbuster trades than ever before. Since the 2022 NFL league year officially began on March 16, there have been a host of NFL stars being traded to new franchises for the upcoming season.

Tyreek Hill was traded to the Miami Dolphins for five draft picks, including the Dolphins' first-, second-, and fourth-round draft picks and fourth for the 2022 NFL draft, as well as a fourth- and sixth-rounder in 2023. Hill also signed a four-year $120 million extension upon signing in Miami, making him the highest paid receiver in the league.

During this same offseason, fellow superstar wideout Davante Adams moved from the Green Bay Packers to the Las Vegas Raiders, where he would, once again, team up with his college teammate at Fresno State, quarterback Derek Carr. The Packers got a first- and second-round 2022 NFL draft pick in return for five-time Pro Bowler Adams.

It is yet to be seen whether or not these trades will be worth their value, but there have been plenty of trades throughout the history of the NFL that have proved to be catastrophic for either the team trading the player or the team gaining the player.

This could be due to a number of factors, such as the team overpaying draft capital for a mediocre player, or the player turning out to be a bust on his new team. There are also plenty of examples of teams undervaluing star talent and giving them away for far too little.

5 Worst NFL Trades of All-Time

#5 - Raiders Trade Randy Moss for a Fourth-Round Pick

Randy Moss with the New England Patriots

Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss is widely regarded as one of the best wide receivers in NFL history. Despite this, after two sub-par seasons with the Oakland Raiders, where Moss had only tallied 553 receiving yards in 2006, the Raiders parted ways with an unhappy Moss as the New England Patriots acquired him for a fourth-round selection in the 2007 draft.

Moss would go on to have one of the best receiving seasons of all-time during his debut campaign in 2007 with New England, catching a league record of 23 touchdowns, as well as tallying 1,493 receiving yards. The Patriots, with Moss and Tom Brady, embarked on a historic 2007 season, going 16-0 in the regular season before losing out to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

Moss would also surpass 1,000 receiving yards over the next two seasons in New England, making the trade of a fourth-round pick more than worth it for the Patriots, and proving terrible business from a Raiders perspective. The Raiders used the fourth-round pick to select cornerback John Bowie out of Cincinnati, who was waived by the team in 2009, and only logged two career tackles and no interceptions.

#4 - The Bears Trade up for Trubisky

The Chicago Bears pick Mitchell Trubisky in the 2017 NFL Draft

The Chicago Bears held the third spot in the 2017 NFL draft, but that didn't stop them from giving up a haul of picks to move up one spot to select quarterback Mitchell Trubisky second overall. Moving from third to second in a move with the San Francisco 49ers, the Bears gave up their first-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2017, as well as a third-rounder in the 2018 NFL draft.

Trubisky struggled to develop as an elite-level quarterback throughout his time in Chicago, never passing for more than 3,500 yards or 25 touchdowns before he was released by the Bears following the 2020 season.

The trade the Bears made to move up will go down as one of the worst in NFL history, as the 49ers wouldn't even select a quarterback with their pick, drafting defensive end Soloman Thomas, so there will be an argument about how the Bears didn't need to move up at all.

As well as this, both Patrick Mahomes (10th overall) and Deshaun Watson (12th overall) were drafted by the Chiefs and Texans, respectively, in the first round of the same 2017 draft, making the Bears trade-up to select Trubisky one of the worst in NFL history.

5 Worst NFL Trades of All-Time

#3 - Raiders Acquire Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown with the Oakland Raiders

In what was thought to be a steal at the time, the Oakland Raiders traded away their third- and fifth-round draft selections in the 2019 NFL draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers for seven-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown.

During his short stint with the Raiders, Brown would miss training camp with frostbiten feet, as well as threaten to retire if he wasn't allowed to wear his old helmet.

Brown would also have multiple unauthorized absences from training camp, and after being fined for not showing up, would get into an altercation with GM Mike Mayock, where Brown apparently called Mayock a "cracker." Brown would be fined $215,000 for this altercation.

Following this tumultuous period, and the Raiders voiding the guaranteed money in Brown's contract, he demanded to be released by the Raiders and was granted his request on September 7, 2019, before even playing a regular season game in Oakland.

#2 - Texans Trade away DeAndre Hopkins

DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals

When you think about the worst trade of recent times, only one comes to mind for most people, and that transaction is the Houston Texans giving away superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson and a second- and fourth-round draft pick in March 2020.

Hopkins had five 1,000+ receiving yards with the Texans, establishing himself as one of the league's best wide receivers, while David Johnson has been battling injuries for a large portion of his career, and only putting up 1,000+ rushing yards once, and that was back in 2016.

Most NFL fans were in agreement that the Texans had been robbed, and since the trade that definitely seems to be the case, with Johnson only rushing for 919 total yards in two seasons with the Texans before he was released at the end of the 2021 season. Meanwhile, Hopkins has continued to excel in Arizona, tallying 1,407 yards in his first season with Kyler Murray and still managing eight touchdowns in an injury-hit 2021 season.

#1 - Brett Favre Traded for a First-Round pick

Brett Favre with the Green Bay Packers

Brett Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second-round of the 1991 draft, but would find little success in Georgia. Favre would be the backup quarterback, and Jerry Glanville who was the Falcons' head coach at the time, wasn't a fan of Favre, saying it would take a plane crash to put him in the game.

The Falcons would have been delighted to cut their losses on Favre, when the Green Bay Packers gave up a first-round 1992 NFL draft selection to acquire Favre. However, this trade would prove to be one of the worst in NFL history.

Favre was, of course, a huge success in Green Bay, winning three MVP awards, 11 Pro Bowl selections, and winning Super Bowl XXXI with a win over the New England Patriots.

Favre would start every game for the Packers from 1992-2007, a run that spanned 297 games, an NFL record that still stands today. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons would struggle to find a consistent franchise quarterback until they selected Matt Ryan in the 2008 draft, who remained with the Falcons until March 2022.