Trade History: Deal for Layne led to three Lions titles in the 1950s
Cleveland Browns fans like to say they are the longest-suffering of any NFL team, but the Lions may have them beat. Detroit’s followers have not seen their team win a championship since 1957, and the franchise has only reached one NFC Championship Game since then (in 1991). The team went to four title games in six years during the 1950s and won three times, mostly due to the top trade on this list. Quarterback Bobby Layne was a castoff with three other teams before the Lions brought him in via trade in 1950. By the time he was traded away eight years later, he was the most decorated player in team history to that point.
Although there are 10 trades on the list, several others are worthy of a mention. Layne’s left tackle, Lou Creekmur, was acquired from the Eagles in the late 1940s, but the deal does not appear on the list because the details (such as date and picks Detroit sent to Philadelphia) are spotty. In addition to the three championships, Creekmur was an eight-time Pro Bowler and a six-time All-Pro in his 10 seasons with the Lions.
The 2008 trade that sent WR Roy Williams to the Cowboys for three picks was mentioned among the Cowboys’ deals. Finally, the Lions traded star cornerback Darius Slay to the Eagles in mid-March for third- and fifth-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft, so it is too soon to assess the move.
1. (Part One) 1950:
Lions acquired: QB Bobby Layne
New York Bulldogs/Yanks acquired: WR Bob Mann
Layne was an All-American at Texas in 1947 and was the third pick in the NFL Draft. However, he was chosen by the Steelers, the last team in the league to use the single-wing formation (an old setup in which the ball was snapped directly to the tailback and the quarterback was used mainly as a blocker). Layne was traded to the Bears and spent the 1948 season backing up Sid Luckman before he was moved again, this time to the New York Bulldogs, who had recently moved from Boston (where they were known as the Yanks for the previous five seasons). New York went 1-10-1 in 1949, changed their name back to the Yanks, and sent Layne packing once again. The quarterback was allowed more time to develop in Detroit, and he soon became a star. He was a four-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro and he led the NFL in passing yards twice. Much like Terry Bradshaw two decades later, Layne did not post out-of-this-world statistics, but was a solid player with great leadership capabilities. Under his guidance, the Lions went to three straight NFL Championship Games against the Browns from 1952-54 and won the first two. The “Blond Bomber” had Detroit in position for a fourth championship game appearance but broke his leg late in the 1957 season. He had to watch from the sidelines as backup Tobin Rote threw four touchdown passes in a rout against Cleveland for the title three weeks later.
Mann should have been known as a talented receiver from Michigan who led the NFL with 1,104 yards for Detroit in 1949. Instead, he was best known for bringing a lawsuit against the league for blackballing him. Despite being the top receiver, the Lions tried to make him take a pay cut, and when he refused, they traded him to the New York Yanks, where Mann, who was one of the few black stars of the era, says he faced racial bias. The Yanks cut him during training camp and he was not picked up by anyone else, leading to the lawsuit. Mann dropped the motion after signing with the Packers in November 1950, becoming the team’s first black player. He had 17 touchdowns in five seasons with Green Bay, but had to retire in 1954 due to a knee injury.
(Part Two) October 7, 1958:
Lions acquired: QB Earl Morrall, a second-round pick in the 1959 NFL Draft and a fourth-rounder in 1960
Steelers acquired: QB Bobby Layne
Morrall is perhaps best-known for leading the Baltimore Colts to Super Bowl III in place of an injured Johnny Unitas in 1968. A 1955 All-American at Michigan State, Morrall was taken by the 49ers with the second pick in the Draft the following year. San Francisco sent him to Pittsburgh, and he made the Pro Bowl in 1957. Morrall spent six years in Detroit, mostly as a reserve. His best season was 1963, when he posted 2,621 yards and 24 touchdowns. Morrall was traded to the Giants (1965-67) then to the Colts (1968-71) before the Dolphins acquired him off waivers in 1972. He backed up Bob Griese in Miami until retiring in 1976 after 21 seasons in the NFL.
The 1959 second-round pick was used on Indiana guard Mike Rabold, who played 12 games as a reserve in 1959. He spent a year with the Cardinals, two with the Vikings and four with the Bears before retiring in 1967. Detroit took Maryland Eastern Shore defensive tackle Roger Brown in 1960. Brown was selected to five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams during his seven-year stint with the Lions. He was part of the original “Fearsome Foursome” along with Darris McCord, Sam Williams and Pro Football Hall of Famer Alex Karras, as well as a later incarnation of a defensive line nickname (more on that later).
Layne returned to Pittsburgh, the team that originally drafted him in 1948. He made the Pro Bowl his first two seasons after the trade, including 1958, when he had a career-high 2,510 yards in a season split between the Lions and Steelers. Layne retired in 1963 and was selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame four years later. He died from cardiac arrest in 1986.
Assessment: Layne was a star and a leader for the Lions during the 1950s, when they won three championships. Detroit traded him away on the downside of his career and benefited from Brown and his five Pro Bowl selections. LIONS
2. January 21, 1950:
Lions acquired: RB Doak Walker
Boston Yanks acquired: QB John Rauch
Cleveland Browns acquired: A second-round pick in the 1950 NFL Draft
The situation involving Doak Walker was murky due to his being drafted in two leagues, the NFL and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). The three-time All-American and 1948 Heisman Trophy winner at Southern Methodist was originally drafted by both the Boston Yanks with the third overall pick in the 1949 NFL Draft (held in December 1948) and also by the Browns in the ninth round of the AAFC Draft (held in July 1948). Detroit, who selected second, swapped choices with Boston, but still had to deal with Cleveland for Walker’s rights. The club’s owners spent three days arguing before asking NFL Commissioner (and Eagles owner) Bert Bell to resolve the situation. Bell suggested either coming to terms on a trade or flipping a coin to determine Walker’s rightful team, and the sides quickly came to an agreement. The AAFC was on the verge of collapse and the league would dissolve within a year. Cleveland was one of three teams that would find a home in the NFL, and they received a second-round pick from Detroit in 1950.
Walker was a jack-of-all-trades during his six years in Detroit, starring as a runner, receiver, kicker, and returner. He was a five-time Pro Bowler, a four-time All-Pro, and he also scored touchdowns in Lions championship victories in 1952 and ’53. Walker’s final year was 1955, when he led the NFL by scoring 96 points for the 3-9 Lions. In six career seasons with Detroit, he posted 1,520 rushing, 2,539 receiving, 284 punt return, and 968 kickoff return yards, as well as 534 points. Walker had several business interests to tend to after his playing career, and his name graces the award given to college football’s best running back. The 1986 Pro Football Hall of Famer became paralyzed in a skiing accident in Denver in 1998 and died later that year due to complications of the paralysis.
Rauch was a Georgia product who played just three seasons in the NFL. He went 0-3 with the Yanks (who changed their name from the Bulldogs in 1950) and was traded to the Eagles for the second half of the 1951 season. Rather than get traded to Pittsburgh the following year and become a player-coach with the Steelers, Rauch chose a job as Florida’s quarterbacks coach. He held several positions at both the college and professional levels over the next 30 years, most notably as the head coach of the Raiders and Bills during the waning days of the American Football League. Rauch led Oakland to a victory in the 1967 AFL Championship Game, thus earning a spot in Super Bowl II (which the Packers won, 33-14).
Cleveland used the second-round pick on John Sandusky, an All-American tackle at Villanova in 1949. Sandusky played in 70 games over six seasons in Cleveland and was a member of three Browns championship teams. He was traded to Green Bay and spent one season with the Packers before retiring in 1956. Sandusky turned to coaching and won two more titles with the Baltimore Colts as both offensive and defensive line coach. He went 4-5 in his only stint as a head coach after replacing former Super Bowl winner Don McCafferty, who was fired early in the 1972 season. Sandusky ended his 36-year coaching career by leading the Dolphins’ offensive line from 1976-94. He passed away in 2006 due to internal bleeding, as well as complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
Assessment: Unfortunately for the Browns and Yanks, the post-playing career coaching exploits of Rauch and Sandusky do not count when breaking down this trade. Walker was excellent, both in college and the pros, and he gives Detroit the edge. LIONS
3. August 22, 1960:
Lions acquired: CB Dick “Night Train” Lane
Cardinals acquired: DE/K Gerry Perry
Lane took a different route to the NFL. He played one year at Scottsbluff Junior College in Nebraska then spent the next four years serving in the U. S. Army beginning in 1948. Lane earned a tryout with the Rams in 1952 and was signed as an undrafted free agent. After converting from wide receiver to cornerback in training camp, Lane went on to lead the NFL with 14 interceptions as a rookie. He was traded to the Chicago Cardinals in 1954 and made four Pro Bowls in his six years in the Windy City. With the Lions, Lane went to three more Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro in back-to-back years (1961 and ’62). He amassed 21 interceptions in six years with Detroit before retiring in 1965. Lane was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974 and is a member of both the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams. Later in life, he was plagued by diabetes and knee issues stemming from his playing career, and passed away after a heart attack in 2002.
Perry was a unique player, spending most of his time as both a defensive lineman and a kicker during his eight-year NFL tenure. The 29th-round selection out of Cal in 1952 topped Detroit’s depth chart at defensive tackle as a rookie, but managed just 16 career starts. Perry also played in two NFL Championship Games, including 1957, when he had an interception in a 59-14 win over the Browns. He switched over to offensive line after his trade to the Cardinals, and he started just seven games in three seasons with St. Louis before retiring.
Assessment: Perry has something Lane doesn’t, a title, but Lane was a Hall of Fame player who had multiple Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections after the trade. LIONS
4. September 7, 1967:
Lions acquired: First- and third-round picks in the 1968 NFL Draft, as well as a second-rounder in 1969
Rams acquired: DT Roger Brown
The Lions used the 1968 first-round pick on speedy USC receiver Earl McCulloch, who chose the NFL over a potential gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. He earned Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after posting career-highs with 40 catches, 680 yards, and five touchdowns, but his production declined throughout his eight-year career. After seven seasons with the Lions, he signed with the Saints for one final year in 1974. Detroit used the third-round pick on Charlie Sanders, a tight end from the University of Minnesota. Sanders was a superior blocker and became a pass-catching threat during his 10 seasons in Detroit. The seven-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro ranks sixth in franchise history with 4,817 yards, and seventh in both receptions (336) and touchdowns (31). He retired in 1977 and was a color analyst and wide receivers coach with the Lions after his playing career. Sanders was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007 and died from cancer in 2015. The 1969 second-rounder became Jim Yarbrough, a Florida product who spent seven of his nine pro seasons manning the left tackle spot in Detroit. He appeared in 112 regular-season games, but only one postseason contest, a Division Round matchup in 1970 that ended 5-0 in favor of the Cowboys.
Brown was drafted in 1960 as an offensive tackle out of Maryland State (now called Maryland-Eastern Shore) both by the Lions in the NFL and the Jets in the AFL. He chose Detroit and converted to defensive tackle as a rookie. Brown became a stalwart, missing just one game in seven years with the Lions while earning five Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections. He was a Pro Bowler in his first year after the trade to the Rams, and also formed a new “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line in Los Angels that included 1959 Pro Bowler Lamar Lundy, as well as Hall of Famers Merlin Olsen and Deacon Jones. Brown has yet to be inducted in Canton, and he feels the trade away from the Lions (and the thought of the time that the best players stayed with one team their entire career) was one of the main reasons why.
Assessment: Brown definitely has a case for the Hall of Fame, but he spent just three years with the Rams after the trade. McCullough and Yarbrough were role players, but Sanders showed fans that tight ends could do more than just block. LIONS
5. April 20, 1988:
Lions acquired: First- and second-round picks in the 1988 NFL Draft
Chiefs acquired: The second overall pick in 1988
The Lions acquired a second-round pick (29th) to move down one spot from second overall to third. Detroit selected University of Miami safety Bennie Blades, who was a two-time All-American and the 1987 Jim Thorpe Award winner as college football’s best defensive back. Blades played his first nine seasons with the Lions, amassing 12 interceptions, 790 tackles and 11 fumble recoveries in 126 games. He also started at free safety in the 1991 NFC Championship Game, which the Lions lost to the Redskins, 41-10. The second-round selection was used on Chris Spielman, an Ohio State linebacker who was an All-American in high school and a two-time honoree with the Buckeyes. He quickly became a star in Detroit, making at least 100 tackles in each of his eight seasons in the Motor City, including a league-leading 195 in 1994. A four-time Pro Bowler, Spielman was also an All-Pro in the 1991 season when the Lions reached the NFC Championship Game. He signed with the Bills in 1996 and played two seasons, with his second year limited by a neck injury that required surgery. After taking a year off to be with his wife who was battling cancer, Spielman signed with the reborn Browns franchise in 1999, but retired after suffering another neck injury in the preseason. Since 2016, he has been an analyst for FOX’s college football and NFL coverage.
Boy, did the Falcons miss out. Instead of taking Auburn linebacker Aundray Bruce with the top overall pick in 1988 (considered one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history), Atlanta could have had Neil Smith, a 1987 All-American defensive end at Nebraska. Instead, the Chiefs grabbed Smith and reaped the benefits of a stellar career that included five Pro Bowl selections and an All-Pro nod in 1993, when he led the NFL with 15 sacks. Chiefs fans got to see Smith’s baseball swing sack celebration 85½ times (third-most in team history), and he also finished his nine-year stint in Kansas City with 28 forced fumbles (third) and 503 solo tackles (seventh). He signed with the Broncos in 1997 and was a member of Denver’s back-to-back Super Bowl-winning teams. Smith finished his career by playing 10 games with the Chargers in 2000.
Assessment: This was easily the most evenly matched trade on this list in the respect that both sides got so much from their acquired players. Spielman was a high-energy linebacker and a tackling machine that made four Pro Bowls and Blades was a solid starter in Detroit for nearly a decade. However, Smith was a two-time champion and one of the most intimidating defensive players of his era. CHIEFS
6. April 21, 1991:
Lions acquired: A first-round pick in the 1991 NFL Draft
Cowboys acquired: Second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 1991
The 1991 first-round pick originally belonged to the Redskins, and the Cowboys moved the selection for three additional picks. Detroit selected Mississippi defensive lineman Kelvin Pritchett, who had 22 sacks in 10 years in the Motor City. He signed with the expansion Jaguars in 1995 and had 9 ½ sacks in four years, while also registering two tackles in the 1996 AFC Championship Game loss to the Patriots. Pritchett returned to the Lions in 1999 and spent his final six seasons as a star on special teams before retiring in 2004.
Dallas selected Michigan State linebacker Dixon Edwards in the second round. Edwards was a three-time champion during his five years with the Cowboys, and he started in the 27-17 win over the Steelers in Super Bowl XXX. He signed with Minnesota in 1996 and spent three years with the Vikings. Edwards signed with the Dolphins in 1999, but was released and retired soon after due to an irregular heartbeat. The third-round pick became James Richards, a guard from Cal. The Cowboys released him in the preseason, and he bounced around practice squads from the Rams to the Cowboys to the Cardinals and back to Dallas again over the next three years. Richards played one year with the Canadian Football League’s expansion Las Vegas Posse before retiring in 1994. In the fourth round, the Cowboys took Tony Hill, who was a 1990 Division I-AA All-American at Tennessee-Chattanooga. Not to be confused with the wide receiver who was a three-time Pro Bowler with Dallas in the late 1970s and early ’80s, Hill the defensive end played just 13 games in two years. He won a title with the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII, but was inactive for the game. Hill missed the 1993 season with a hamstring injury and was released after a tryout with the Buccaneers the following year. He spent three years with the CFLs Winnipeg Blue Bombers before he retired in 1996.
Assessment: The other two picks were non-factors, but Edwards was a role player and part-time starter on three Super Bowl-winning Cowboys teams. On the other side, Pritchard was a solid player with Detroit, both on defense and special teams, but his team did not have much success. PUSH
7. April 26, 1992:
Lions acquired: A second-round pick in the 1992 NFL Draft
Cowboys acquire: Third-, fourth- and ninth-round picks in 1992
Selecting a kicker early in the NFL Draft is usually frowned upon by “experts.” For every Sebastian Janikowski, who enjoyed a 19-year career after the Raiders took him in the first round in 2000, there are those such as Russell Erxleben, a 1979 first-round pick by the Saints who totaled just 19 points in six NFL seasons and Roberto Aguayo, who played just one year after the Buccaneers selected him in the second round in 2016. Detroit used the second-round pick from this trade on Jason Hanson, a 1989 All-American kicker at Washington State. Hanson played 21 NFL seasons and ranks fourth in league history with 2,150 points. The two-time Pro Bowler had 100 or more points 12 times, with a high of 134 in 2012, his final season.
With the third-round pick, the Cowboys selected James Brown, a 1991 Division II All-American offensive tackle at Virginia State. Brown was released by Dallas during the preseason, signed on with the Jets and spent the next three years in New York. He started all 64 games in four years at right tackle after signing with the Dolphins in 1996, and finished his career with one season in Cleveland in 2000. The fourth-round selection was the University of Tennessee guard Tom Myslinski, who played 60 games for eight teams in a nine-year NFL career. He was released from the Cowboys’ practice squad early in his rookie season, but returned to Dallas and played 10 games in 1999. Myslinski played with the Steelers in 2000 and retired the following year. In the ninth round, Dallas took East Carolina cornerback Chris Hall, one of seven defensive backs the Cowboys selected in 1992. He was waived during training camp but was brought back the following year. Hall was converted to safety and played one game with the Cowboys before being waived in October. He spent four years with NFL Europe’s Frankfurt Galaxy and retired in 1998.
Assessment: This was a rare instance where drafting a kicker in the early rounds panned out. Hanson was one of the most solid and accurate kickers in NFL history, while Dallas’ three picks played a total of 11 games with the team. LIONS
8. April 24, 2004:
Lions acquired: A first-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft
Chiefs acquired: Second- and fourth-rounders in 2004
The Lions used the first-round pick on running back Kevin Jones, an All-American both in high school and in college at Virginia Tech in 2003. He was a member of the NFL’s All-Rookie Team after running for 1,133 yards and five touchdowns in 2004. Jones saw his carries drop through the next three years in Detroit, although he still was able to reach the end zone (which he did 24 times in four seasons with the Lions). He signed with Chicago, where he backed up Matt Forte in 2008 and missed the following year after tearing an ankle ligament during a preseason game. Jones retired in 2010 after one season with the United Football League’s Hartford Colonials. He now runs Joba, a design and marketing studio in Virginia.
Kansas City used the second-round pick on Junior Siavii, a defensive tackle from Oregon. Siavii played 56 games in four seasons, the first two with the Chiefs. He missed all of the 2006 and ’07 campaigns due to knee surgery before returning to play 16 games with the Cowboys over the next two seasons. Siavii spent 2010 with the Seahawks before retiring the following year. He was indicted on drug trafficking charges in Missouri in 2019. The Chiefs selected Siavii’s Oregon teammate, wide receiver Samie Parker, in the fourth round. Parker totaled 1,529 yards and seven touchdowns in four years with the Chiefs. He bounced around with several NFL practice squads, plus CFL, UFL and Arena Football League teams before retiring in 2014.
Assessment: While Jones’ career might not have been stellar, he still gave Detroit more than Siavii and Parker brought to Kansas City. LIONS
9. April 27, 2008:
Lions acquired: A third-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft
Cowboys acquired: Fourth-round picks in both 2008 and 2009
Another trade with the Cowboys brought Detroit Cliff Avril, a former Purdue defensive end who split his 10-year career evenly between the Lions and Seahawks. Avril played 73 games with Detroit, totaling 39½ sacks (sixth in franchise history), including 11 in 2011. He signed with Seattle in 2013 and started in back-to-back Super Bowls. Avril had three tackles, two passes defensed and a safety in a 43-8 Seahawks win over the Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. He was released and later retired in 2018 when he was unable to recover from a neck injury sustained the previous year, when he was kicked in the chin during a game.
Dallas sent the 2008 fourth-round pick (Missouri 2007 All-American tight end Martin Rucker) to the Browns for a third-rounder the following year. The Cowboys used the 2009 picks on Jason Williams and Stephen McGee. Williams was a two-time All-American linebacker at Western Illinois, but he had just three tackles in 10 games with the Cowboys and 65 overall in a six-year career with four teams before retiring in 2015. McGee was a quarterback at Texas A&M, and threw three touchdown passes in three NFL games with the Cowboys while backing up both Jon Kitna and Tony Romo. After a failed tryout with the Texans, he spent two years with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats and retired after the 2014 season.
Assessment: Williams and McGee were little-used reserves in Dallas, while Avril was a solid pass rusher in five seasons with Detroit. LIONS
10. October 25, 2018:
Lions received: DT Damon Harrison
Giants received: A fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft
Harrison signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of William Penn in 2012 and started 48 games at nose tackle in four seasons in the green and white jersey. He switched uniforms, but not stadiums, when he signed with the Giants in 2016. “Snacks” became a fan favorite and earned an All-Pro selection in his first season with the Giants. In a cost-cutting move, New York sent their big defensive tackle to Detroit midway through the 2018 season, and Harrison responded with 5½ sacks in 25 games before the Lions released him in March 2020.
The Giants sent the 2019 fifth-round pick to the Seahawks along with second- and fourth-rounders and received a first-round selection in return. New York used the pick on Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker, who was an All-American and the Jim Thorpe Award winner as best college defensive back in 2018. Baker played in all 16 games as a rookie, registering 61 tackles and eight passes defensed. He (along with Seahawks cornerback Quinton Dunbar) was charged with armed robbery after pulling a gun on other guests at a Florida house party in May.
Assessment: Honestly, I was going to favor the Giants here, since Baker seems to be an up-and-comer while Harrison only spent a year and a half with the Lions. However, Baker’s offseason antics could ruin his career, depending on the legal ramifications of his actions. PUSH
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
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