Trade History: Chiefs deals involve several NFL stars and Hall of Famers
The Kansas City Chiefs finally broke their 50-year championship drought with a win over the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. The franchise started play as the Dallas Texans in 1960 and moved 500 miles northeast to their current home three years later. Several greats have graced the field at Arrowhead Stadium through the years and have also been a part of trades, including Hall of Famers Buck Buchanan and Curley Culp, as well as other stars, such as Bobby Hunt, Neil Smith, Jamaal Charles, and Larry Johnson.
Two trades that did not make the top-10 list were the ones that brought in future Hall of Fame tackle Willie Roaf from the Saints in 2002 and the 2009 deal that sent 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Tony Gonzalez to the Falcons. There is also a trade on the list involving a current Chiefs star, but let’s leave that as a surprise until the end.
1. August 29, 1961:
Dallas Texans acquired: An 11th-round pick in the 1962 AFL Draft
Raiders acquired: G John Caldwell
Rarely do teams find All-Pro caliber players in the later rounds of the draft. The Chiefs turned an 11th-round selection into Bobby Hunt, a safety from Auburn. Hunt was an AFL All-Pro after posting eight interceptions as a rookie, and he was selected to the AFL All-Star Game two years later. In six years with Kansas City, he had 37 interceptions, including a league-leading 10 in 1966. Hunt also was a part of two AFL title teams and played in the first AFL-NFL Championship Game (now known as the Super Bowl), which the Chiefs lost to the Packers. He played his final two seasons with the expansion Cincinnati Bengals before retiring in 1969.
In exchange, the Raiders received Caldwell, a guard from Oregon State, who was on Dallas’ roster in 1961, but never played a game as a professional.
Assessment: At first glance, this was an even trade, a low-round draft pick for a depth player on the offensive line. However, Hunt was a consistent producer with Dallas and Kansas City, while Caldwell was a non-factor. CHIEFS
2. September 13, 1962:
Dallas Texans acquired: The first overall pick in the 1963 AFL Draft and T Fred Miller
Raiders acquired: QB Francis “Cotton” Davidson
Two years after finding a gem in the 11th round, the Chiefs used the first pick in the 1963 AFL Draft on Junious “Buck” Buchanan, a defensive tackle from Grambling who was the first black player taken with the top overall selection in professional football history. Buchanan joined Hunt on two AFL title teams, and also had a sack in Kansas City’s victory over Minnesota in Super Bowl IV. From 1964-71, he was selected to six AFL All-Star Games, two Pro Bowls, and four All-Pro teams. Buchanan retired in 1975 after spending his entire 13-year career with the Chiefs. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990 and was named a member of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. Buchanan died due to complications from lung cancer in 1992. Miller was a defensive tackle from LSU who the Raiders drafted in the 26th round of the 1962 AFL Draft. He instead chose to play with the Baltimore Colts, who selected him in the seventh round in the NFL Draft. Miller was a three-time Pro Bowler who spent his entire 10-year career with the Colts before retiring in 1972.
Davidson was a quarterback and punter from Baylor, who was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the first round in 1954. He threw just 66 passes before signing with the Dallas Texans for the AFL’s first season in 1960. Davidson started the first two seasons in Dallas before the trade, earning a spot in the 1961 AFL All-Star Game and also winning game MVP honors. He was an All-Star again in 1963, despite splitting the starting snaps with future Super Bowl-winning coach, Tom Flores. Davidson spent four more years with the Raiders, retiring in 1968 with a career record of 19-33-1.
Assessment: Davidson had a few moments of greatness, but had an inconsistent career overall. Buchanan was one of the best players at his position for more than a decade. CHIEFS
3. August 8, 1974:
Chiefs acquired: An eighth-round pick in the 1975 NFL Draft, as well as a sixth-round pick in 1976 and a fourth-rounder in 1977
Redskins acquired: G Jim Tyrer
Kansas City used the three late-round picks to select Oklahoma tackle Wayne Hoffman, Illinois State tackle Calvin Harper and Memphis cornerback Eric Harris. Hoffman and Harper never played in the NFL and Harris chose to play in the CFL at the start of his career. He spent three seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, earning two All-Star selections and setting a team record with a 115-yard interception return. Harris came to the Chiefs in 1980 and posted 17 interceptions in three seasons. He finished his career by playing three seasons with the Rams and retired in 1985. Harris died of a heart attack in 2012.
Tyrer was drafted by the Texans in the third round in 1961 out of Ohio State and played 180 games with the franchise over the next 13 seasons. He was a nine-time AFL All-Star/Pro Bowler, a six-time All-Pro and a member of three AFL championship teams. Tyrer played 14 games with the Redskins in 1974, but he started just one and retired after the season. His post-career included several failed business ventures, which led to him shooting and killing his wife and them himself on September 15, 1980.
Assessment: Tyrer was a stalwart on Kansas City’s offensive line for more than a decade, but he spent only one season with Washington. Two of the three picks never appeared in the NFL, but Harris did enough in his three seasons with Kansas City to win the trade. CHIEFS
4. October 22, 1974:
Chiefs acquired: DE John Matuszak and a third-round pick in the 1976 NFL Draft
Oilers acquired: DT Curley Culp and a first-round pick in 1975
Matuszak was a defensive end at the University of Tampa who was taken first overall in the 1973 NFL Draft. He started all 14 games with the Oilers as a rookie, but created a stir when he decided to join the World Football League's Houston Texans during the offseason. Matuszak played in the opening WFL game in early July 1974 while still under contract to the Oilers. During the game, he was given a restraining order preventing him from being a member of two professional teams at the same time. The situation was alleviated when he was traded to the Chiefs, and he played 22 games over his two-year stay in Kansas City (also, the WFL folded during this time). The Raiders signed Matuszak in 1976, and he spent six years in Oakland, starting 72 games and winning two titles. His playing career ended in 1981 and he later became an actor. Matuszak died in 1989 due to an accidental overdose of the painkiller Darvocet. The pick became Henry Marshall, a wide receiver from the University of Missouri who spent his entire 12-year NFL career with the Chiefs. Kansas City improved when future Bills coach Marv Levy took over as offensive coordinator, with Marshall forming a solid receiving corps with Carlos Carson and Stephone Paige in the 1980s. Despite only appearing in one playoff game, Marshall ranked fourth in team history with both 416 catches and 6,545 yards, and he is tied for eighth with 33 touchdowns. He retired after the 1987 season.
Like Matuszak, Culp was thinking of jumping ship to the World Football League and was traded to prevent a defection. Originally a second-round pick of the Broncos, the 1967 All-American defensive tackle from Arizona State was traded to Kansas City before the 1968 season. After a year as a reserve, Culp started 84 games over the next six seasons, earning two Pro Bowl selections and winning a title in Super Bowl IV. He got even better after the trade, making four Pro Bowls and earning his only All-Pro selection in 1975, his first full season in Houston. Culp became a dominant nose tackle in Houston’s 3-4 defense and helped the team reach back-to-back AFC Championship Games in 1978-79. He was traded to the Lions midway through the 1980 season and played just five games in Detroit before retiring the following year. Culp was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2013. Houston used the pick to select Jackson State linebacker Robert Brazile, who played all 10 seasons with the Oilers. Even though sacks were not an NFL-recognized statistic during the early part of his career, Brazile was a top-notch pass rusher who was given the nickname “Dr. Doom.” The 1975 Defensive Rookie of the Year also earned seven Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections. Brazile retired in 1984 after his wife died in a car accident. He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Assessment: Although Kansas City acquired a pair of talented players, Culp and Brazile became Hall of Famers after thriving in Houston’s defensive setup. OILERS
5. April 20, 1988:
Lions acquired: First- and second-round picks in the 1988 NFL Draft
Chiefs acquired: The second overall pick in 1988
Kansas City used this trade to move up one spot to second overall and draft Neil Smith, a 1987 All-American defensive end at Nebraska. Smith’s stellar career included five Pro Bowl selections as well as All-Pro honors in 1993, when he led the NFL with 15 sacks. His 85½ sacks rank third 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 ended his career after playing with the Chargers in 2000.
With the third overall pick, 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 had 12 interceptions, 790 tackles, and 11 fumble recoveries in nine seasons with the Lions. He also started at free safety in the 1991 NFC Championship Game, which the Lions lost to the Redskins. Blades signed with Seattle in 1997 and retired after one season. 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 had at least 100 tackles in each of his eight seasons with Detroit, 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 spent two years with the Bills, then took a year off to be with his wife, who was battling cancer, Spielman signed with the Browns in 1999, but retired after suffering a neck injury in the preseason.
Assessment: This was an evenly matched trade. Spielman was a tackle machine and a four-time Pro Bowler and Blades was a solid starter in Detroit. However, Smith was one of the most intimidating pass rushers in the 1990s. CHIEFS
6. April 26, 2003:
Chiefs acquired: First-, third- and sixth-round picks in the 2003 NFL Draft
Steelers acquired: A first-round pick in 2003
The first of the Chiefs’ picks was by far the most successful. Penn State running back Larry Johnson had quite a season in 2002, totaling 2,087 rushing yards and 20 touchdowns. He was an All-American, finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, and also earned the Maxwell (best all-around player), Walter Camp (player of the year as voted by coaches and sports information directors) and Doak Walker (best collegiate running back) awards. Johnson spent his first two pro seasons behind Priest Holmes but broke out in 2005 with 1,750 yards and 20 touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl for the second straight year in 2006 while also earning All-Pro honors after posting 1,789 yards and 17 scores. However, Johnson was never able to recapture that magic over the rest of his career. He missed half of 2007 with a foot injury and was suspended for behavior issues stemming from an assault arrest the following year. After a slow start in 2009, the Chiefs traded Johnson to the Bengals. He spent one season each with the Redskins and Dolphins before retiring in 2011. Johnson has been arrested at least six times, mostly for assault and battery, with the most recent coming in 2014. Kansas City took the University of Tennessee cornerback Julian Battle in the third round. The battle played 26 games over three seasons with the Chiefs, but started just one. He spent 2006 on Washington’s practice squad and played the next two years with Calgary in the Canadian Football League, helping the Stampeders win the Grey Cup in 2008 before retiring. Kansas City traded the sixth-rounder to the Jets in a deal that allowed them to select Jordan Black and Jimmy Wilkerson. Black was a former Notre Dame tackle who played 48 games with the Chiefs and 94 overall in seven NFL seasons. Wilkerson was an Oklahoma defensive end who spent most of his eight-year pro career as a reserve. He had one sack in 72 games with Kansas City.
Pittsburgh moved up in the first round to draft Troy Polamalu, a 2002 All-American and two-time All-Pac-10 safety at USC. Polamalu made eight Pro Bowl and four All-Pro teams with the Steelers. He was credited with 32 interceptions, 783 tackles, 12 sacks, 107 passes defensed, and the most recognizable hair in football. Polamalu was a starter on two Super Bowl-winning Steelers squads, but he also missed several games in 2009 (sprained MCL) and 2012 (strained calf). He retired in 2015 and was the Head of Player Relations during the brief run of the Alliance of American Football. In 2020, Polamalu was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Assessment: Johnson was on his way to a stellar career but his off-the-field issues got in the way. Polamalu had a few injury issues but was arguably the NFL’s best safety for most of his career. STEELERS
7. April 23, 2008:
Chiefs acquired: A first-round pick, two third-round picks and a sixth-rounder in the 2008 NFL Draft
Vikings acquired: DE Jared Allen and a sixth-round pick in 2008
Kansas City traded the first-round pick to Detroit, moving up two spots to select Branden Albert, a former All-ACC guard at Virginia Tech. The Chiefs moved Albert to tackle, and he started 85 games over six seasons, making the Pro Bowl in 2013. He signed with the Dolphins the following year and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2015. After three years in Miami, Albert signed with the Jaguars in 2017, but retired before the season. The other player acquired in the Lions trade was Brad Cottam, a tight end from the University of Tennessee who had just 16 catches in three injury-plagued seasons before retiring in 2011. In the third round, Kansas City selected running back Jamaal Charles, who won a National Championship as a freshman with Texas in 2005. Charles backed up Larry Johnson as a rookie, but took off when he became the starter in 2009. Over the next six seasons, he was a four-time Pro Bowler, a two-time All-Pro and he reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark five times. After missing 2011 with a torn ACL, Charles responded with a career-high 1,509 yards the following year and a league-leading 12 touchdowns in 2013. He ran for a franchise-record 7,260 yards and he ranks fourth with 43 scores. After nine seasons in Kansas City, Charles signed with Denver and spent one year each with the Broncos and Jaguars before he retired. The later third-round pick was used on North Carolina State safety DaJuan Morgan, who made 42 tackles in three seasons with the Chiefs and Colts. After spending time on the Jets’ practice squad in 2011, he ended his career with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes the following year. With the final pick, Kansas City selected Utah State wide receiver Kevin Robinson, who spent one year as a kickoff returner with the Chiefs and played with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 2009 before retiring.
Allen was a standout at Idaho State who was a member of the All-Rookie Team in 2004, and also earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors with the Chiefs after leading the NFL with 15½ sacks in 2007. Kansas City placed the franchise tag on Allen the following year, then traded him to Minnesota. He spent the next six years harassing quarterbacks in the NFC North, totaling 85½ sacks (third in team history), including a league-best 22 in 2011. He made four Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams with Minnesota before signing with Chicago in 2014. Allen was traded to Carolina during the following season and after 12 games with the Panthers, he retired early in 2016. He formed a curling team with former NFL players Keith Bulluck, Marc Bulger, and Michael Roos in 2019, but the squad has gone winless in seven matches. The Vikings selected Notre Dame center John Sullivan in the sixth round. Sullivan never made the Pro Bowl but played in 109 games in seven years with Minnesota. He played one season with the Redskins and two with the Rams, getting the start in Super Bowl LIII. Sullivan has not played in the NFL since being released by Los Angeles in early 2019.
Assessment: Charles and Allen were both stars for their respective teams after the trade, while Albert and Sullivan were solid offensive line starters. Neither team had much postseason success, and the individual accolades are just about even on both sides. PUSH
8. February 28, 2009:
Chiefs acquired: QB Matt Cassel and LB Mike Vrabel
Patriots acquired: A second-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft
Before Brian Hoyer or Jimmy Garoppolo, Matt Cassel was the Patriots backup that other teams valued. Cassel was a USC product who took over after Tom Brady suffered a torn ACL and MCL in the first game of the 2008 season. Despite an 11-5 record, the Patriots missed the playoffs that year due to a tiebreaker, but Cassel’s value increased dramatically. After the trade, he made his only Pro Bowl in 2010, but was released after the Chiefs brought in Alex Smith in 2013. Cassel spent two years with the Vikings and also played with the Bills, Cowboys, Titans, and Lions before retiring after the 2018 season. Kansas City also received another veteran presence in linebacker Mike Vrabel, who won three titles with the Patriots. He earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in 2007 when he posted a career-high 12½ sacks. Vrabel played two seasons with the Chiefs, registering two sacks in 30 games before retiring in 2011. He became a coach, first with Ohio State, then with the Houston Texans. After one year as the Texans’ defensive coordinator, Vrabel was named head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2018. He has an 18-14 record in two seasons and led the Titans to the AFC Championship Game in 2019.
In return, the Patriots received a second-round pick, which they used to select Patrick Chung, a two-time All-Pac-10 safety at Oregon. Chung has spent 10 of his 11 pro seasons with New England, posting 719 tackles, 11 interceptions, 54 passes defensed, and 4½ sacks. His only non-Patriots season was 2013, when he played 12 games with the Eagles. The three-time champion is still with New England, but has opted to sit out the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Assessment: Cassel was selected to a Pro Bowl, but he and Vrabel combined for just six seasons in Kansas City. Despite no individual awards, Chung was a starter for three title teams. PATRIOTS
9. April 28, 2011:
Chiefs acquired: First- and third-round picks in the 2011 NFL Draft
Browns acquired: A first-round pick in 2011
The Chiefs used the first-round pick on Pitt wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin, who suffered a wrist injury after getting in a fight with a teammate during the 2011 preseason. Baldwin was inconsistent, totaling 41 receptions and two touchdowns in two years with Kansas City. He signed with the 49ers in 2013, but was used sparingly before he was released the following year. The Lions wanted to claim Baldwin in August 2014, but he failed a physical and retired soon after. The third-rounder became Justin Houston, who was an All-American defensive end at Georgia. He converted to outside linebacker as a pro and soon became a thorn in the side of AFC West quarterbacks. Beginning in his second season, Houston earned four straight Pro Bowl selections and was an All-Pro in 2014, when he led the NFL with 22 sacks. In nine years with Kansas City, he posted 78½ sacks, which ranks fourth in team history. Houston left the Chiefs and signed with the Colts in 2019, recording 11 sacks while starting all 16 games.
Cleveland moved up five spots to draft Phil Taylor, a defensive tackle from Baylor. Taylor made the All-Rookie Team in 2011 after starting all 16 games and setting career highs with 59 tackles and four sacks. Injuries and inconsistent play limited him to 44 games in four years before the Browns released him prior to the 2015 season. Taylor signed with the Broncos the following year, but was released after suffering a knee injury during training camp. He suffered the same fate with the Redskins in 2017, missing the entire season with a torn quad. Taylor announced his retirement early in 2019.
Assessment: Baldwin and Taylor were both labeled as busts, but thankfully for Kansas City, Houston more than made up for it with his consistent production. CHIEFS
10. April 27, 2017:
Chiefs acquired: A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft
Bills acquired: First- and third-round picks in 2017 and a first-rounder in 2018
Kansas City pulled the trigger on this trade, which allowed the Chiefs to draft Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who earned the Sammy Baugh Trophy as college football’s best passer after leading the nation with 5,052 yards in 2016. Mahomes learned behind veteran Alex Smith during his rookie year, then exploded onto the scene in 2018. He earned MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors after throwing for 5,097 yards and a league-leading 50 touchdowns. The Chiefs went 12-4 and pushed the Patriots into overtime in the AFC Championship Game before Rex Burkhead’s touchdown sent New England to Super Bowl LIII. Although his overall numbers in 2019 (4,031 yards and 26 scores) weren’t as electrifying as the previous season, Mahomes still led his team to an 11-3 record in his starts. He threw five touchdowns against the Texans in the Division Round and three more as the Chiefs came from behind to beat the Titans in the AFC Championship Game. He capped off his season with an MVP performance, including 286 yards, two passing touchdowns and a rushing score in a 31-20 win over San Francisco in Super Bowl LIV, giving Kansas City its first title in 50 years. On July 6, 2020, the Chiefs signed Mahomes to a ridiculous contract extension, with the 10-year, $503 million deal being the most expensive ever signed in American professional sports.
The Bills used the first-round pick on Tre’Davious White, a 2016 All-American cornerback at LSU. White has become one of the best in coverage in his short time in the NFL, registering 181 tackles, 43 passes defensed and 12 interceptions in three seasons, including a league-leading six in 2019. After earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections last year, he had his fifth-year rookie option exercised. Buffalo traded away the other two picks, bringing in four players from the 2017 and ’18 drafts. Zay Jones was a 2016 All-American wide receiver at East Carolina. He had 90 receptions, 1,037 yards and nine touchdowns in 2½ years with the Bills before he was traded to the Raiders midway through the 2019 season. Dion Dawkins was a tackle from Temple who has played all 48 games, starting 43, on the left side of Buffalo’s offensive line over the past three years. Tremaine Edmunds was an All-ACC linebacker at Virginia Tech in 2017. He started immediately as a pro, amassing 236 tackles, 3½ sacks and three interceptions in two seasons. Edmunds, who was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2019, comes from a football family. His brothers Trey and Terrell both play for the Steelers and their father, Ferrell, was a two-time Pro Bowl tight end with the Dolphins. Siran Neal was a cornerback at Jacksonville State who was drafted in the fifth round in 2018. Neal has 47 tackles in 31 games as a reserve with the Bills, but his 2020 season could be in doubt after he was placed on the reserve list due to coronavirus concerns on July 30.
Assessment: White is already a star in Buffalo, and both Edmunds and Dawkins are solid players with high upsides. However, Mahomes earned just about every offensive honor in his first season as a starter and he followed that by leading Kansas City to its first Super Bowl victory in 50 years. The sky seems to be the limit. CHIEFS
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
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