worst trade in colts history (merge)

[dgambill]

Amen....

 

If I were Ernie Accorsi or Robert Irsay at the time....and who SHOULD have been on the same page....I would have told Elway and his snotty arrogant father....."If you'd prefer not to play here for Frank Kush, then best of luck in the Yankee organization playing for George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin under the white-hot media spotlight in NYC.

 

Unfortunately Irsay and Accorsi were NOT on the same page, and Accorsi contends to this day that he had a much more favorable deal set up with the Raiders that would likely have resulted in Dan Marino being drafted by the Colts shortly after Elway went #1.

 

For as badly as the old man Irsay screwed this up and the long impact it had....I agree it was the worst trade in Colts history.

It isn't even so much that they traded him...its that we didn't land a qb of caliber in return. I mean that draft was loaded with qbs and we didn't get any of them. I'm sure we could have moved down in the draft and still landed a franchise caliber qb or got one that was already a franchise qb. Elway was THE LUCK/MANNING of his time....I don't mean to demean Hinton at all but we didn't get equal value for sure. Even if we "HAD" to trade...we made a bad trade...its a simple fact.

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

Its all what ifs. Elway didn't have as much leverage as people want to think. Let him go play for the yankees then. We dealt from a position of weakness. Yes he may not have played for us but if we wait the pick becomes more valuable as it gives us time to negotiate a better deal with other teams. Once we show we won't be bullied and willing to let the pick go for next to nothing teams would have created a bidding war. I think Elway would have maybe sat out a year and then came back and played...or at least we get a franchise qb. Hinton was a great player for us but we know qbs determine futures. Fact remains its one of the worst trades in the nfl history...let alone Colts.

 

Its a mistake because we drafted him!

[Horse Shoe Heaven]

Amen....

 

If I were Ernie Accorsi or Robert Irsay at the time....and who SHOULD have been on the same page....I would have told Elway and his snotty arrogant father....."If you'd prefer not to play here for Frank Kush, then best of luck in the Yankee organization playing for George Steinbrenner and Billy Martin under the white-hot media spotlight in NYC.

 

Unfortunately Irsay and Accorsi were NOT on the same page, and Accorsi contends to this day that he had a much more favorable deal set up with the Raiders that would likely have resulted in Dan Marino being drafted by the Colts shortly after Elway went #1.

 

For as badly as the old man Irsay screwed this up and the long impact it had....I agree it was the worst trade in Colts history.

Hum didn't know that! If true Dan Marino in a Colts uniform say it it so!

[pacolts56]

Hum didn't know that! If true Dan Marino in a Colts uniform say it it so!

Below is an article that breaks down some of the options GM Ernie Accorsi was weighing. The Chargers and 49ers were evidently in the mix as well....with division rivals NE and Miami to a lesser extent. But there were no shortage of willing partners.

 

Anyway, Accorsi, according to this account, wanted 3 first rounders and 2 second rounders and the Chargers who picked Top 10 that year were only willing to surrender 2 first round picks.

 

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight...."settling" for two 1st rounders and a consolation prize of Dan Marino would have been fine by me, and it has to be pointed out that Accorsi simply got too greedy if that was indeed the Chargers offer. The Oakland deal was allegedly torpedoed by a vetoed trade they attempted to make to acquire Chicago's 5th overall pick to then package in a deal for Elway.

 

Finally of course, Robert Irsay took matters into his own hands a few days after the draft and sent Elway to Denver for the Hinton package, cutting his GM out of the process.

 

So considering, as dgambill noted, that we had the first overall pick in the famous "QB Class of 1983" and wound up with neither Elway or Marino as a result of some really screwy front office/ownership dysfunction....I vote the Elway fiasco the worst trade in Colts history.

 

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-05-01/sports/0405010072_1_ernie-accorsi-john-elway-colts

[GAColtsFan]

I'm the only one that has voted for Booger so far and I realize he was out of the league soon after he was traded, but we have been weak on the D line ever since.

[lennymoore24]

Fred Young for 2 1st round picks

 

I think this was hands down winner.   Two #1 picks for an injury prone LB who had one good year.

[Crush22]

He was huge in the playoffs. Without Booger, we would have been eliminated round 1 of the layoffs

Layoffs?! Don't talk about layoffs! Are you kidding me? Layoffs?!

[braveheartcolt]

Don't care who was the worst. What about who was our best ever trade? Or are we doomed forever to be a 'glass half empty' forum?

But playing along a little, did Ugoh actually give us much more than Richardson, yet he gets a free ride.

[pacolts56]

Don't care who was the worst. What about who was our best ever trade? Or are we doomed forever to be a 'glass half empty' forum?

But playing along a little, did Ugoh actually give us much more than Richardson, yet he gets a free ride.

Fair point....maybe Ugoh didn't look as bad playing alongside some of the traffic cones we had on that O-line.

And he wasn't ushered in with heavenly trumpets (Irsay's tweets) like Richardson was.

As for our best trade? I'd say Vontae gets the nod.

[The Old Crow]

Below is an article that breaks down some of the options GM Ernie Accorsi was weighing. The Chargers and 49ers were evidently in the mix as well....with division rivals NE and Miami to a lesser extent. But there were no shortage of willing partners.

Anyway, Accorsi, according to this account, wanted 3 first rounders and 2 second rounders and the Chargers who picked Top 10 that year were only willing to surrender 2 first round picks.

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight...."settling" for two 1st rounders and a consolation prize of Dan Marino would have been fine by me, and it has to be pointed out that Accorsi simply got too greedy if that was indeed the Chargers offer. The Oakland deal was allegedly torpedoed by a vetoed trade they attempted to make to acquire Chicago's 5th overall pick to then package in a deal for Elway.

Finally of course, Robert Irsay took matters into his own hands a few days after the draft and sent Elway to Denver for the Hinton package, cutting his GM out of the process.

So considering, as dgambill noted, that we had the first overall pick in the famous "QB Class of 1983" and wound up with neither Elway or Marino as a result of some really screwy front office/ownership dysfunction....I vote the Elway fiasco the worst trade in Colts history.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-05-01/sports/0405010072_1_ernie-accorsi-john-elway-colts

I totally agree. It's still a trade whether it was forced or not. You could have called his bluff on the Yankees deal, or got way more in value from other teams, than they did Denver. I never even

thought of the Marino angle.

So it's not the worst trade because you got a good OL for a once in a lifetime QB, a bum backup ? Irsay also did this trade because he was comfortable with the Denver owner, and they got two exhibition games in Denver, because they paid well.

Worst trade in NFL history, bar none. If Dallas got all those draft choices for Hershall Walker, the Colts should have gotten way more than a 1, Chris Hinton, and Mark Herman.

[The Old Crow]

One other comment on why this Elway trade was the worst, was other repercussions . It was the final nail in the coffin for the Baltimore Colts in terms of fan support. After Elway left, there was a total feeling of hopelessness. Imagine the feeling if Manning wouldn't have come after what Indy fans had endured record wide from 84-97.

Once they moved to Indy, this trade caused many horrible losing seasons for Colts fans there. All because a big baby, and his daddy, wouldn't follow the rules and draft procedures. That is why I will always respect Peyton Manning over Elway, any day. One of my happiest days was when he was shaking hands in the booth with a minute left in the Ravens- Denver game, and Flacco hit Jacoby Jones on that bomb, wiping that smirk off his face. It took a long time for payback, but it came.

[King Colt]

Marshall Faulk to the Rams for 2nd and 5th round picks?

I'm going to agree with ponyboy here. That trade turned out to cost the Colts a great runner who was the missing key to Super Bowl trophies.

[indyagent17]

T-Rich was no even close to being the worst trade in Colts history. I would have to say the Fred Young might have been the worst.

dont forget the second D in his name, it stands for Debacle

[ColtJax]

Since Marino went at the bottom of round one picking him with a top 10 pick would have been a reach that we wouldn't have done. More than likely we would have taken Todd Blackledge, talk about a down grade..

[ReMeDy]

I still think the T-Rich trade was the worst, even after reading all these comments. We traded a 1st rounder for a HB with weight issues, who rarely had any big yard gains in his career with us, who's guaranteed money on his contract is a headache for our team, who simply failed to show up for a game without telling his team, and when he left the team he mouthed off and tried throwing the blame onto our system.

About the only thing good about T-Rich was he wasn't injury prone.

[azcolt]

This has been an interesting thread and I agree the Elway trade was terrible, but the absolute worst trade in Colts history was Carroll Rosenblum for Bob Irsay. Rosenblum's Colts and Rams teams had the best winning percentage of any NFL owner ever. Irsay as the Colts owner was a train wreck, personally and professionally. Thank heavens Jimmy took after his mother.

[crazycolt1]

I still think the T-Rich trade was the worst, even after reading all these comments. We traded a 1st rounder for a HB with weight issues, who rarely had any big yard gains in his career with us, who's guaranteed money on his contract is a headache for our team, who simply failed to show up for a game without telling his team, and when he left the team he mouthed off and tried throwing the blame onto our system.

About the only thing good about T-Rich was he wasn't injury prone.

Fredd Young was traded for two first round picks and the Colts got one injury riddled season out of him. At least with Richardson he was on the cheap. The Browns paid his signing bonus so the money hit wasn't that bad.

[pacolts56]

This has been an interesting thread and I agree the Elway trade was terrible, but the absolute worst trade in Colts history was Carroll Rosenblum for Bob Irsay. Rosenblum's Colts and Rams teams had the best winning percentage of any NFL owner ever. Irsay as the Colts owner was a train wreck, personally and professionally. Thank heavens Jimmy took after his mother.

Okay, now that's a different angle....and not a bad one.

 

Rosenbloom put some great Colts teams on the field back then.

[southwest1]

Hank Baskett!! 

 

 

 

 

Oh wait. 

Both painful & accurate at the same time Lolly. How in the world can the ball drop right in the bread basket AKA his hands in 2009 & a dude with the last name Baskett can't recover an onside kick? Grrr! 

 

The Richardson trade was bad....but the Hershel Walker trade is the mother of all bad NFL trades.

That deal singularly helped cement the Cowboys dynasty in the early 90s.

Ah huh...All Cowboys haters including myself despise that move with the heat & intensity of a thousand suns man...Sigh...

[sreylas937]

In round about way worst trade ever was.. Trading Elway for Jeff George...

 Got Rison in pick for Elway then traded him for pick of George

[The Old Crow]

This has been an interesting thread and I agree the Elway trade was terrible, but the absolute worst trade in Colts history was Carroll Rosenblum for Bob Irsay. Rosenblum's Colts and Rams teams had the best winning percentage of any NFL owner ever. Irsay as the Colts owner was a train wreck, personally and professionally. Thank heavens Jimmy took after his mother.

It was terrible for Baltimore, but good for Indy. Rosenbloom was an interesting guy. Good owner, but went astray when he met Georgia Frontiere. I always felt sorry for Steve Rosenbloom. As bad as Bob Irsay was, he at least looked out for Jim.

[SolomonThomasFanAccount]

shula a top 5 of all time for i believe a second round pick 

[ColtJax]

This is tricky for so many reasons.

 

Elway gets traded for Hinton, a #1 (Solt) and Mark Hermann. (Bad trade on the surface)

 

Colts then trade Solt for Eagles #1 (Rison).

 

Colts then trade Hinton, Rison and 1991 #1 to Falcons for Jeff George (both teams traded lower picks as well).

 

HOWEVER!! Because the Colts got George that allowed them to trade Chris Chandler who went to the Bucs for the #2 pick in the draft.

 

The Colts then traded George to Atlanta for the #7 pick And the following years #1 which turned out to be Marvin Harrison.

 

NOW, because the Colts traded George we needed a QB, so we signed Jim Harbaugh, who turned out real well for us.

 

So it turned out that we used the booty we got for Elway to get George, we used George to get 2 #1 picks, including Marvin Harrison, Jim Harbaigh and the Bucs 1st round pick (2ed in the draft) when we traded Chandler...

[The Old Crow]

This is tricky for so many reasons.

Elway gets traded for Hinton, a #1 (Solt) and Mark Hermann. (Bad trade on the surface)

Colts then trade Solt for Eagles #1 (Rison).

Colts then trade Hinton, Rison and 1991 #1 to Falcons for Jeff George (both teams traded lower picks as well).

HOWEVER!! Because the Colts got George that allowed them to trade Chris Chandler who went to the Bucs for the #2 pick in the draft.

The Colts then traded George to Atlanta for the #7 pick And the following years #1 which turned out to be Marvin Harrison.

NOW, because the Colts traded George we needed a QB, so we signed Jim Harbaugh, who turned out real well for us.

So it turned out that we used the booty we got for Elway to get George, we used George to get 2 #1 picks, including Marvin Harrison, Jim Harbaigh and the Bucs 1st round pick (2ed in the draft) when we traded Chandler...

It's a nice timeline , but Elway could have taken you to five Super Bowls like he did Denver. Harbaugh was a mediocre back up like Herman, obviously Marvin was good, but the whole thing is a bit of a stretch. Elway was a top 5 QB on most people's books in NFL history, and you got basically 2 offensive linemen, and a back up QB.

[shakedownstreet]

this must be a florida ballot

[jvan1973]

t-rich winning by a mile. sheesh he wasnt even close to the worst trade. some of you need a history lesson on the colts

You started the thread and didn't even list the Fredd Young trade. I think you should take your own advice

[CR91]

You started the thread and didn't even list the Fredd Young trade. I think you should take your own advice

If you actually read the thread instead of just looking for ways to bash me, you'd see I said I can't believe I forgot to list that

[riftastic28]

Had we had 2014 pick colts take SS deone bucannon ... Richerson trade was a disaster . But there have been far worse.. An to be fair nobody could run the ball on the colts roster last couple of years . If someone like gurley or Gordon is there we gotta take them . Wow I just looked at a past draft an we took Werner over Rhodes .. Two shutdown corners Davis an Rhodes bucannon Adams. That's a sick secondary

[riftastic28]

It's a nice timeline , but Elway could have taken you to five Super Bowls like he did Denver. Harbaugh was a mediocre back up like Herman, obviously Marvin was good, but the whole thing is a bit of a stretch. Elway was a top 5 QB on most people's books in NFL history, and you got basically 2 offensive linemen, and a back up QB.

true but having elway then you don't have manning .. Getting manning lead to luck .. I wouldn't change anything .. Two future HOF QB's for the price of 1 .. I'll take that

[pacolts56]

This is tricky for so many reasons.

Elway gets traded for Hinton, a #1 (Solt) and Mark Hermann. (Bad trade on the surface)

Colts then trade Solt for Eagles #1 (Rison).

Colts then trade Hinton, Rison and 1991 #1 to Falcons for Jeff George (both teams traded lower picks as well).

HOWEVER!! Because the Colts got George that allowed them to trade Chris Chandler who went to the Bucs for the #2 pick in the draft.

The Colts then traded George to Atlanta for the #7 pick And the following years #1 which turned out to be Marvin Harrison.

NOW, because the Colts traded George we needed a QB, so we signed Jim Harbaugh, who turned out real well for us.

So it turned out that we used the booty we got for Elway to get George, we used George to get 2 #1 picks, including Marvin Harrison, Jim Harbaigh and the Bucs 1st round pick (2ed in the draft) when we traded Chandler...

Holy smokes dude...are you a tax auditor?

That covers a 13-year period and at least 2 Colts GMs.

Nice work and it was fun to examine this draft/trade genealogy...but I can't seriously draw a 13-year line from Elway to Marvin Harrison and say the Elway mess turned out okay.

[GoColts8818]

Trading up to get Jeff George.

[CR91]

Trading up to get Jeff George.

 

well the colts got a first back for george so I didnt think it was worth mentioning

[GoColts8818]

well the colts got a first back for george so I didnt think it was worth mentioning

make something out of nothing doesn't make it a good trade. They recovered well from their mistake but trading up to get Jeff George was a mistake that set the team back from 1990 until 1995. That's more damage than any other trade they have made.

[CR91]

make something out of nothing doesn't make it a good trade. They recovered well from their mistake but trading up to get Jeff George was a mistake that set the team back from 1990 until 1995. That's more damage than any other trade they have made.

 

yes I get that, but if you look at the trades ive mentioned, we didnt get anything back for those players. atleast in george's case we were able to compensate our misfortune 

[GoColts8818]

yes I get that, but if you look at the trades ive mentioned, we didnt get anything back for those players. atleast in george's case we were able to compensate our misfortune

again, being able to get something back for your mistake doesn't make the mistake ok to start with, the George years were some of the worst in franchise history. Trading up to get him to build the team around was a huge mistake,

[jimmy g]

Carroll Rosenbloom for Bob Irsay.

[The Old Crow]

Carroll Rosenblume for Bob Irsay.

I'll drink to that one ! Lol

[jimmy g]

I'll drink to that one ! Lol

I'm guessing so would've Pete Rozelle

[GoColts8818]

Trading for booger was one of the best trades on franchise history because it played a major role in the Colts winning their only Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Any team in the league would give up a second round pick if they knew they would get a Super Bowl win in return.

[CR91]

Trading for booger was one of the best trades on franchise history because it played a major role in the Colts winning their only Super Bowl in Indianapolis. Any team in the league would give up a second round pick if they knew they would get a Super Bowl win in return.

 

in all honestly it was bob coming back that helped our defense. we were still giving up 100 yard games to rbs when he was playing.