Paton’s Trade for Wilson the Worst in History

[stat]

The worst trade in league history should have a dedicated thread. Paton’s trade+extension goes down as the worst transaction in sports. Wilson was dreadful yesterday, a perfect stamp on his abysmal play this season. Earlier today I saw a comment in another article that the Broncos offense is the lowest scoring in two decades. Paton absolutely owned by Pete Carroll, John Schneider and Wilson’s agent.

https://syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/10056917-russell-wilson-trade-deemed-worst-deal-in-sports-history-as-panthers-beat-broncos.amp.html

[Humberg]

Yep. When you consider the draft capital and the money that was probably implicitly understood then it’s absolutely the worst in team history, probably NFL history too. When you consider what the Broncos thought they were getting, it doesn’t get much worse in terms of how this played out.

I know others want to bring up past Broncos moves (Steve Tensi for one, which is ridiculous) which is not only not relevant given it wasn’t the modern NFL, but not the draft capital and nowhere near the money to even be comparable. In fact, the Broncos weren’t tied to Tensi like they are to Russ and could walk away after two short seasons. You just can’t find an NFL trade that burns that much draft capital, tied up that much money and has looked like an epic fail this quickly ever in the NFL. It’s really historic and unprecedented.

In so many ways that was a franchise defining move, and unfortunately it appears they are going to be defined as losers and donkeys for years to come moving forward.

[fraguela09]

RW’s agent looks like a mad genius. He played GP like that villain in Princess Bride. Wait? Didn’t he drink the poison?

[Humberg]

RW’s agent looks like a mad genius. He played GP like that villain in Princess Bride. Wait? Didn’t he drink the poison?

That’s what’s so funny. You only think he did! He switched glasses while your back was turned. You fell victim to one of the classic blunders……

[broncolee]

Not the worst trade in league history

[JvDub95]

Herschel Walker trade still the worst. RBs and QBs don't exactly hold the same value. Plus, we don't know what the next few years are going to look like. In the heat of the moment, yeah, it looks bad

[Livinthelife]

Just horrendous, and the only way out of it as I see it is to get a new head coach who can limp through the next few seasons and get the most out of Wilson, whatever he has left. As I mentioned in a different thread, this has ruined the Broncos for years, sometimes it takes a franchise a decade to recover from something like this. Just find it hard to believe the new owners signed off on this contract so new into their ownership.

Unless a new coach can come in and make Wilson good again.....yikes.

[Humberg]

At this point, you just gotta find a way out. And there is one as detailed here:

https://www.sbnation.com/platform/am...de-options-nfl

It’s not petty or quick and it’s sad, as the article points out, because Denver was on the edge of being a playoff team and now they are destined to be the worst team in the league for a few years. Talk about fleecing the Broncos. Wow.

[Humberg]

And, okay maybe the Walker trade was worse in terms of draft capital and players exchanged, but it wasn’t worse in terms of the contract that now binds Denver and the negative impact. Minnesota was a playoff team when they traded and they continued to be a playoff team. They were able to step away from this having missed the chance to draft but otherwise not too worse off.

We were close to being a playoff team and now we are the bottom of the league. And we will be for years. That is the impact of the most important position in football and the effect of how significantly bad Wilson is playing.

So, not to split hairs (they were both atrocious moves by the teams) but it depends on how you are defining worst. The trade with the most significant negative impact on a team? I would say Denver wins that prize. Which is good because that’s the only thing they will be winning for awhile.

[stat]

Walker was highly productive after the trade and the Vikings made the playoffs. They only had two seasons without making the playoffs, followed by multiple playoff appearances. So, the Walker trade pales in comparison to the damage inflicted this season and many to come from the Wilson trade.

Walker was productive, the same cannot be said of Wilson. The Broncos offense with Wilson is the lowest scoring in two decades. Let that sink in.

Beyond the massive draft capital (and productive player like Shelby Harris) traded away, the extension is devastating to the cap through 2025. Possibly worse than draft capital lost and enormous cap hit, is the fact that Wilson is a toxic pariah in the locker room. What we saw with Purcell lashing out at Wilson was the tip of the iceberg. To reach the point of scolding Wilson on the field shows a deep resentment for Wilson among the players.

[mojo0730]

You can't make a definitive statement that it's the worst trade ever without analyzing it from a broader scope years from now, when we see who Seattle drafted with the picks and how Wilson plays out the remainder of his career here.

[CanDB]

The Walker trade turned Dallas' fortunes all around. It is still 1st on my list because its impact on one team was especially significant.

The Ricky Williams trade, in the draft, was also significant. That was a case of arrogance, as Ditka made a monumental joke out of draft trades. I like Williams, and he was very good, but far too much weight on one kid's shoulders.

The Wilson trade has years to understand. Does he get better or not? Does Seattle turn their picks into key players? As of today, this looks like a real bust for The Broncos, but it could improve.

[m0ng0]

It's gotta be up there in the top 5

[stat]

You can't make a definitive statement that it's the worst trade ever without analyzing it from a broader scope years from now, when we see who Seattle drafted with the picks and how Wilson plays out the remainder of his career here.

Then you shouldn’t have made a definitive statement that Paton trading Chubb was a smart move without analyzing it from a broader scope years from now, when we see who Denver drafted with the pick and how Chubb plays out the remainder of his career.

[mojo0730]

Then you shouldn’t have made a definitive statement that Paton trading Chubb was a smart move without analyzing it from a broader scope years from now, when we see who Denver drafted with the pick and how Chubb plays out the remainder of his career.

Trading a player you were never going to re-sign in his final year for a first rounder is always a good decision. As I told you before, you certainly weren't here last year or on the offseason clamoring to re-sign Chubb. No one was. He was basically considered a bust for all intents and purposes.