The Washington football franchise began play in 1932 as the Boston Braves. They became the Redskins the following year and moved to Washington in 1937. After going to six NFL Championship Games in the 10-year stretch from 1936-45 (with two victories), the Redskins endured a 25-year playoff drought through the early 1970s.
The team has played for the league championship five times in the Super Bowl era, with two quarterbacks featured on this list responsible for two of the three titles the team has won since 1982. Washington has also been involved in two lopsided trades in which several selections were traded for top five picks. One trade that did not make this list is the move from the 2020 NFL Draft which sent disgruntled offensive lineman Trent Williams from the Nation’s Capital to the West Coast for two picks.
The team was renamed in late July 2020, thus all trades in this story were made when the franchise was called the Redskins and will be referred to as such. Also, this is the final installment of the Trade History series, so click on the links at the bottom of the story to relive all the great (and not-so-great) deals each team has made.
1. December 16, 1961:
Redskins acquired: WR Bobby Mitchell and RB Leroy Jackson
Browns acquired: RB Ernie Davis
In 1961, the Redskins were under the control of George Preston Marshall, a laundromat company owner who was staunchly against integration in football. More than 14 years after Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier, Washington was the final NFL team that did not have a black player on its roster, and Marshall was not in any hurry to change that fact. The owner finally relented after John F. Kennedy became president. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall threatened to pull the team’s 30-year lease on the newly built D.C. Stadium (now called RFK Stadium), which was paid for by government money and owned by the city government. The Redskins owned the top pick in the 1962 NFL Draft, with the player selected becoming the centerpiece of this deal.
Mitchell was a seventh-round pick of the Browns in 1958 and he quickly became a star. In four seasons with Cleveland, the 1960 Pro Bowler totaled 38 touchdowns (16 each rushing and receiving, and three each on punt and kickoff returns), and his scores included a 98-yard kick return as a rookie and a 90-yard rush in 1959. Mitchell was used primarily as a receiver after being traded to the Redskins, and he led the NFL in receiving yards in each of his first two seasons with Washington. He was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro after posting 1,384 yards and 11 touchdowns in 1962 and followed that with 1,436 yards and seven scores (including a record-tying 99-yard pass from George Izo) in another Pro Bowl season. Mitchell was named to his final Pro Bowl in 1964 after leading the league with 10 touchdowns. Although he ranks fifth in team history with 6,492 yards, sixth with 49 touchdowns, and eighth with 393 receptions, Mitchell never appeared in a playoff game and Washington never had better than a 7-7 record (in 1966) during his seven-year tenure. After his playing career ended in 1968, he became a pro scout for head coach Vince Lombardi. Mitchell spent the next 35 years with the franchise, working his way up to assistant general manager. He wanted to become the first black GM in NFL history, but the team passed him over several times before he finally left in 2003. The man who became the first black player on the last NFL team to integrate, Mitchell was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and passed away at 84 on April 5, 2020.
Although this trade centered around the team’s first-round draft picks in 1962, this trade was completed about two weeks after the draft (which was held in November or December until 1966). Jackson was Western Illinois running back who was taken at 11 by the Browns and, even after the trade, chose the Redskins over the Boston Patriots, who selected him 14th overall in the AFL Draft. Jackson’s lone touchdown came on an 85-yard pass from Norm Snead on Dec. 8, 1962, his 23rd birthday. Less than a year later, he was out of the NFL. Redskins officials told him it was because of a fumble he had on a kickoff return during a game against the Steelers, but the more plausible reason, at least for that era, was that he was caught in a hotel room with a white woman. Jackson had failed tryouts with the Bills and two CFL teams before leaving football for good in 1963. The “other” first black player in Redskins history drove a bus for 30 years and still lives in the Washington, D.C., area.
The threat of the loss of his team’s stadium finally got Marshall to relent and agree to integrate. With the first overall pick, Washington selected Davis, a running back who was a two-time All-American, was a part of Syracuse’s National Championship team in 1959, and won the Heisman Trophy two years later. However, Marshall, who usually made all personnel decisions, gave up his role rather than be the one who selected a black player, and Davis refused to play for the Redskins, leading to the trade. His time in the NFL was short-lived since he was diagnosed with leukemia in the early part of 1962. Although doctors cleared him to play, head coach Paul Brown refused to let him, leading to a rift between Brown and team owner Art Modell that led to the coach leaving the following year. Davis appeared in one preseason game with the Browns and was getting ready to play in a College All-Star Game against the Packers when he woke up with a swollen neck and was hospitalized. He was later diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia. Despite the initial effectiveness of chemical treatments, Davis passed away at age 83 on May 18, 1963.
Assessment: This whole trade was a microcosm of the racial issues plaguing this country in the 1960s. We have an owner (Marshall) who needed government threats to agree to sign black players, a player (Davis) who refused to play where he was not wanted, and another player (Jackson) who was cut because of a decision in his personal life that is a fairly common occurrence in today’s society. While Mitchell was a top-notch player, this trade would have been much closer had Davis’ health circumstances been different. REDSKINS
2. March 31, 1964:
Redskins acquired: QB Christian “Sonny” Jurgensen and DB Jimmy Carr
Eagles acquired: QB Norm Snead and CB Claude Crabb
Jurgensen was a Duke product who was Norm Van Brocklin’s backup in the Eagles’ 1960 championship season. He became a starter the following year and was named a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro after leading the NFL with 3,723 yards, 32 touchdowns, and 24 interceptions. Jurgensen also led the league with 3,261 yards and 26 picks in 1962. After the trade, he led the league in passing yards three more times, earning a Pro Bowl selection in each of those seasons. Despite losing his starting spot to Billy Kilmer in 1971, Jurgensen stayed with Washington four more years until he retired in 1974. He ranks second in Redskins history with 22,585 passing yards and 179 touchdowns. Jurgensen was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and had a nearly 35-year broadcasting career that ended in 2008.
Carr was also a member of Philadelphia’s title-winning team. He started his career with the Chicago Cardinals and, after a season in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes, he signed with the Eagles in 1959. Carr totaled 13 interceptions and six fumble recoveries in five seasons with Philadelphia, splitting time between cornerback and safety. He moved to linebacker with Washington and started two more seasons before retiring in 1965. Carr spent the next 32 years as a coach in the NFL, the United States Football League, and the World League of American Football. He never had a head coaching job but was a defensive coordinator with the Bears, Eagles, and Lions in the 1970s.
Snead was a Wake Forest product who earned two Pro Bowl selections in his first three seasons with Washington, despite leading the NFL with 27 interceptions in 1963, and he also earned Pro Bowl honors two years later. Although he amassed a 28-50-4 record in his seven-year stint with Philadelphia, Snead was the best of the quarterbacks during the team’s 17-year playoff drought from 1961-77. When he left the Eagles after the 1970 season, Snead held team records with 15,672 yards and 111 touchdowns, marks that stood for more than a decade before they were broken by Ron Jaworski. Snead spent one year with the Vikings, 1½ with the 49ers, and 3½ with the Giants (including a fourth Pro Bowl berth) before retiring in 1976. Crabb totaled nine interceptions in his two seasons with Washington but had just one over his final five with the Eagles and Rams. He played 23 games in two seasons with Philadelphia but he was best known for a blocked punt return that set up that game-winning score, which allowed Los Angeles to beat Green Bay and clinch a playoff spot in 1967.
Assessment: Snead had a solid stint with the Eagles and Carr had his best years in the City of Brotherly Love, but Jurgensen became one of the NFL’s first great passers during his time in Washington. REDSKINS
3. (Part One) May 15, 1973:
Redskins acquired: S Ken Houston
Oilers acquired: T Jim Snowden, TE Mack Alston, DE Mike Fanucci, S Jeff Severson, and WR Clifton McNeil
Houston overcame his draft spot as a ninth-round pick in 1967 and became one of the best safeties in NFL history. He played 84 games and was selected to three Pro Bowls and two AFL All-Star teams in six seasons with the Oilers. Houston had 25 interceptions, including an incredible nine returned for touchdowns and a career-high nine in 1971. After the trade, Houston was a two-time All-Pro and was selected to seven Pro Bowls, making him an honoree in 12 straight seasons from 1968-79. He retired in 1980, and he later worked as a football coach and school counselor. Houston was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1986 and was selected to the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019.
The Oilers played in the American Football League’s first two championship games and won the title in the circuit’s inaugural season. However, they slipped mostly into mediocrity for several years afterward. The team compiled a 9-45-2 record from 1970-73 and new coach and general manager Sid Gillman responded by trading away some of Houston’s stars and stockpiling young players and draft picks. One of those stars, safety Ken Houston, fetched five players. Snowden started 97 games in his seven-year tenure with the Redskins, but never appeared for the Oilers. Alston had just seven receptions in three seasons with Washington, but he was on the roster for the Super Bowl VII loss to the perfect Dolphins. He had his best years in Houston, totaling 73 catches for 783 yards and 12 touchdowns in four years with the Oilers. After four seasons with the Colts, Alston retired in 1980 after an 11-year NFL career. He was a youth advocate during and after his playing career, and he passed away on Christmas Eve in 2014.
Fanucci played one season each as a reserve with the Redskins, Oilers, and Packers, totaling 40 games (13 in Houston). He played 66 games over five CFL seasons, primarily with the Ottawa Rough Riders, was an All-Star in 1978, and retired the following year. Severson was a Long Beach State product who played 83 games over eight seasons with five NFL teams. He spent 12 games with Washington in 1972 and played the next two years in Houston, starting all 14 games in 1973. Severson had stints with the Broncos, Cardinals, and Rams before retiring after the 1979 season. McNeil began his career as a reserve with the Browns, and he had just 12 receptions in his first four seasons (1964-67). He broke out in 1968, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors after posting career-highs with 994 yards, seven touchdowns, and an NFL-best 71 catches. After a down year, he moved to the Giants and registered 50 catches for 764 yards in 1970. McNeil was traded to Washington during the following season and had just 14 receptions but, like Alston, he played in Super Bowl VII. He had one reception in three games with Houston after the trade, and he retired in 1973.
(Part Two) September 4, 1975:
Redskins acquired: DT Dave Butz (free agent signing), plus fifth- and 15th-round picks in the 1976 NFL Draft and a sixth-rounder in 1977
Cardinals acquired: First-round picks in 1977 and 1978, as well as a second-round selection in 1979
Butz was a star defensive tackle at Purdue who was drafted by the Cardinals with the fifth pick in 1973. He made the All-Rookie team after starting 10 games, but he suffered a knee injury in the first game in 1974 and missed the rest of the season. Following the trade, Butz was a stalwart, playing 203 games in 14 seasons with Washington. During his tenure, he helped the Redskins reach the Super Bowl three times, winning twice. Although sacks were not a league-sanctioned statistic until 1982, Butz totaled 35½ sacks, which ranks seventh in team history. His best season was 1983, when he earned his only Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors and posted a career-high 11½ sacks. Butz retired in 1988 and is now a board member and certified shot gun coach with the National Rifle Association.
In addition to obtaining the rights to sign Butz as a free agent, the Redskins also acquired three draft selections from the Cardinals. The 1976 picks became Baylor guard Mike Hughes and Bluefield (WV) State running back John Monroe, who never played in the NFL. The 1977 selection was sent to the Eagles along with two others and defensive tackle Manny Sistrunk in exchange for veteran cornerback Joe Lavender. After three seasons in Philadelphia, Lavender, nicknamed “Big Bird,” totaled 29 interceptions in seven seasons in Washington, including eight in 1976 and six each in his back-to-back Pro Bowl years of 1979-80. He was a reserve during his final season, the strike-shortened 1982 campaign, but played all four games during the playoffs. He retired after a 27-17 win over the Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII.
The Cardinals used the 1977 first-round pick on Missouri quarterback Steve Pisarkiewicz, who was supposed to take over the starting spot from veteran Jim Hart. Instead, Pisarkiewicz started just four games in two seasons, totaling three touchdowns and seven interceptions. He played one game with the Packers in 1980 as his final NFL action. Pisarkiewicz spent time in the CFL, the USFL, and with several teams in Europe before retiring after the 1990 season. The 1978 first-rounder became Ken Greene, a safety from Washington State. Greene spent his first five years with St. Louis, playing in 67 games for the Cardinals and posting 15 interceptions, including seven in 1981. He played two seasons with the Chargers and retired in 1984. After his playing career, Greene was a defensive backs coach in college for more than a decade (1995-2006), serving with Fresno State, Purdue, and finally, his alma mater Washington State. Greene and his wife, Tina, went on the reality show The Amazing Race in 2008 and finished in second place.
Finally, the Cardinals traded the 1979 pick, which netted them Calvin Favron and Mark Bell. Favron was a linebacker from Southeastern Louisiana who played four seasons with St. Louis, mostly on special teams. Bell was a former Colorado State wide receiver who had 195 punt return and 123 receiving yards for the Cardinals before the team released him early in the 1981 season.
Assessment: Houston was a Hall of Fame player who did not appear in a Super Bowl during his storied career but did earn seven Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections. Butz only earned one of each of those individual honors, but he was a starter on two championship teams. Out of eight players and picks Washington traded away, only Greene was anything close to productive. REDSKINS
4. (Part One) January 25, 1974:
Redskins acquired: QB Joe Theismann
Dolphins acquired: A first-round pick in the 1976 NFL Draft
Theismann was an All-American quarterback at Notre Dame in 1970, but he never played with Miami after the Dolphins drafted him in the fourth round of the 1971 NFL Draft (he was also taken by the Twins in the baseball draft that year). After contract negotiations failed, Theismann signed with the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts. He was an All-Star twice during his three CFL seasons but the Argonauts lost to the Calgary Stampeders in the 1971 Grey Cup game. After the trade to Washington, Theismann joined the Redskins, where he was a backup to Billy Kilmer for his first four seasons until taking over as the full-time starter in 1978. Theismann soon became one of the best passers in the NFL earning two Pro Bowl selections and topping the 3,000-yard mark three times.
Theismann went to the Pro Bowl and was named NFL Man of the Year in the strike-shortened 1982 season, then led the Redskins to their first title in 40 years with a victory over the Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII. Washington employed a run-heavy scheme (led by John Riggins’ 166 yards), but Theismann threw two touchdown passes in the win. He earned MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, All-Pro, and Pro Bowl honors after posting career highs with 3,714 yards and 29 touchdowns in 1983. After a 14-2 season, the Redskins returned to the Super Bowl but fell to the Raiders, 38-9. Theismann had another 3,000-yard season in 1984, but his career ended 11 games into the following campaign. During a mid-November contest against the Giants, Theismann was attempting a flea-flicker when he was taken down by star linebacker Lawrence Taylor. During the hit, Taylor’s knee drove into Theismann’s lower right leg, causing a compound fracture of the tibia and fibula that ultimately ended his career. He is the Redskins’ all-time leader with 25,206 passing yards and ranks third with 160 touchdowns. After his playing career, Theismann was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2003 and was a broadcaster for more than 20 years with CBS, ESPN, and NFL Network. He is also a restaurant owner and an author.
The Dolphins used the first-round pick on Larry Gordon, a linebacker from Arizona State who played seven seasons with Miami. Gordon had three interceptions in a Week 15 win over the Raiders in 1978 that clinched a playoff berth for the Dolphins. He had a sack in a Super Bowl XVII loss to the Dolphins that turned out to be his final game. Gordon collapsed while jogging in Phoenix before training camp in 1983 and died shortly after. His death was attributed to heart disease.
(Part Two) April 29, 1986:
Redskins acquired: A sixth-round pick in the 1986 NFL Draft
Chiefs acquired: C/G Rick Donnalley
This trade shows that there is no such thing as a “throw-away pick” in the NFL Draft. The Redskins used the sixth-round selection on Mark Rypien, a quarterback from Washington State. Rypien missed his first two seasons with knee and back injuries, but he won a title when the Redskins beat the Broncos, 42-10 in Super Bowl XXII. He split playing time with Super Bowl MVP Doug Williams in 1988 before taking over as a starter the following year. Rypien earned his first Pro Bowl selection that season after posting a career-high of 3,768 yards and 22 touchdowns. In 1991, he threw for 3,564 yards and a career-best 28 scores while leading Washington to a 14-2 record. Rypien was a Pro Bowler that season and ended the campaign with a 292-yard, two-score performance that earned him MVP honors in a 37-21 win over the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI. After two more years with the Redskins, Rypien spent the next four years as a backup with the Browns, Rams, and Eagles. He finished his six-year stint in Washington with 15,928 yards and 101 touchdowns. Rypien signed with the Falcons in 1998 but retired after his three-year-old son Andrew died of cancer. He came back to the NFL in 2001 after three years away, but he was cut by the Colts after four games and retired for good. After his playing career, Rypien followed in the footsteps of his longtime head coach, Joe Gibbs, and started his own NASCAR team, which was eventually sold to Roush Racing.
Donnalley was a North Carolina guard and center who split his six-year career evenly among the Steelers, Redskins, and Chiefs. He played 21 games with Pittsburgh, 28 with Washington, and 22 with Kansas City, including all 16 after the trade-in 1986. He started in the Wild Card game that season, which the Chiefs lost to the Jets, 35-15.
Assessment: Washington used these two moves to acquire quarterbacks who each led the team to a title. Theismann was a star in both the CFL and the NFL before a gruesome broken leg ended his career, and Rypien went from sixth-round pick to Super Bowl MVP. Gordon was a solid starter before his heart gave out and Donnalley was a lineman who didn’t last more than two years in any of his NFL stops. REDSKINS
5. (Part One) April 23, 1989:
Redskins acquired: RB Gerald Riggs and a fifth-round pick in the 1990 NFL Draft
Falcons acquired: A second-round pick in 1989 and a first-rounder in 1990
Riggs was an Arizona State product who started his career by playing seven seasons with the Falcons. The three-time Pro Bowler is Atlanta’s all-time franchise leader with 6,631 yards and he ranks second with 48 touchdowns. Riggs’ tenure in Washington went from him being the starter, to backing up Earnest Byner, to becoming the short-yardage back. He scored 11 touchdowns for a team that went 14-2 and was the NFC champion in 1991, and he ended his career with two rushing scores in a Super Bowl XXVI win over Buffalo. The pick was traded to the Patriots for a selection that became Cary Conklin, a quarterback from the University of Washington. Conklin started just two games in two seasons with the Redskins in place of Rypien. He finished his career by appearing in two games with the 49ers in 1995.
The Falcons used the second-round pick on LSU tackle Ralph Norwood, a promising player who saw his career and life end after just 11 games. He passed away at age 23 on Nov. 24, 1989, after the car he was driving crossed over an oncoming lane of traffic, went down an embankment, and struck a tree in nearby Suwanee Georgia. The 1990 selection became Steve Broussard, a Washington State running back. Broussard ran for 1,472 yards and 10 touchdowns during his four years with the Falcons. After one year with the Bengals in 1994, Broussard went to the Seahawks, where he was used primarily as a kick returner. He had two 1,000-yard seasons and totaled 3,900 yards in four years with Seattle before he retired in 1998. Broussard has spent the past 20 years coaching high school and college, and he is now the head coach at Union High School in southwest Washington.
(Part Two): May 3, 1989:
Redskins acquired: RB Earnest Byner
Browns acquired: RB Mike Oliphant
Byner was an East Carolina running back who was drafted by the Browns in the 10th round in 1984. He totaled 3,364 yards and 27 touchdowns with Cleveland and posted 1,002 yards and eight scores in 1985. After the trade, Byner passed by Gerald Riggs on the depth chart in Washington. He was selected to back-to-back Pro Bowls in the early 1990s. Byner ran for a career-high 1,219 yards in 1990 while leading the NFL with 297 carries. The following year, he had 1,048 yards for the 14-2 Redskins, and he had 49 yards rushing and a touchdown receiving in a Super Bowl XXVI victory. He registered 3,950 yards and 25 touchdowns in five years with Washington. Byner returned to the Browns for two seasons, beginning in 1994, and he spent his final two years with the Ravens before retiring in 1997. After his playing career, Byner spent six seasons as Baltimore’s Director of Player Development before turning to coaching. He was the running backs coach for the Redskins (2004-07), Titans (2008-09), Jaguars (2010-11), and Buccaneers (2012-13).
Oliphant was a product of the University of the Puget Sound. He spent one season with the Redskins, totaling just 141 yards (30 rushing, 111 receiving). His three-year Browns tenure was dominated by a hamstring injury that cost him all of the 1990 season. Oliphant had a failed tryout with the Seahawks in 1992 and spent three seasons in the CFL before retiring in 1995.
Assessment: Riggs and Byner are best known for their careers with other teams, but they combined to create a formidable backfield for a title-winning team in Super Bowl XXVI. Norwood’s life was taken way too early, but Broussard and Oliphant were role players at best. REDSKINS
6. April 17, 1999:
Redskins acquired: First-, third-, fourth-, fifth-, sixth- and seventh-round picks in 1999, plus first- and third-rounders in 2000
Saints acquired: The fifth overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft
Washington acquired all of New Orleans’ draft picks in 1999 plus two others the following year in this deal. The Redskins sent the first- and third-rounders to the Bears to move up from 12 to 7 and select Roland “Champ” Bailey, a 1998 All-American cornerback at Georgia who became a four-time Pro Bowls in the Nation’s Capital. His Redskins career will be given a deeper look as part of another trade on this list. The fourth-round pick was used on Georgia Tech linebacker Nate Stimson, who never played in the NFL. The Redskins made another trade with the Bears, with the fifth-rounder being part of the deal that brought Jon Jansen to Washington. Jansen was an offensive tackle who was a member of Michigan’s National Championship team in 1997. The 1999 All-Rookie Team member spent a decade as the Redskins’ right tackle, starting 123 games. Jansen missed all of the 2004 season after rupturing his Achilles tendon, and he lost all but one game in 2007 with a broken and dislocated ankle. He spent one year as a reserve with the Lions and retired in 2010 after Detroit cut him before the season. Jansen has focused on his media career once his playing days ended. He has been a television and radio analyst, and he has also been the co-host of the Michigan Football Tailgate show.
The story of Washington’s 1999 draft was traded, and following that trend, the sixth- and seventh-round picks were sent to Denver. The Redskins used the acquired fifth-round selection on Derek Smith, a linebacker from Arizona State. Smith was a starter all four years he was with Washington, and he amassed 376 tackles, five fumble recoveries, and 4½ sacks. He signed with San Francisco in 2001 and made at least 100 tackles in each of his first five seasons with the 49ers and totaled 709 overall. Smith split the 2008 season between the Chargers and Dolphins before retiring.
The 2000 first-round pick turned out to be the second overall selection, and the Redskins drafted LaVar Arrington, a linebacker from Penn State. Arrington was a two-time All-American and, in 1999, won a trio of awards named after NFL greats (the Butkus and Lambert awards are given out by different organizations to the best linebacker and the Bednarik Award honors college football’s best overall defensive player). The accolades piled up in the NFL as well for Arrington, who was a member of the All-Rookie Team in 2000 and earned Pro Bowl selections in each of the next three seasons. He always seemed to be around the ball, amassing 11 sacks in 2002 and leading the league with six forced fumbles the following year. However, Arrington’s later career was dominated by bad news, including his agent getting suspended for two years due to missing clauses in his contract, as well as an Achilles injury that ultimately led to his retirement in 2007 as a member of the Giants. After trying several business ventures, including a sports agency, a football training system, and a restaurant, he is now an analyst on the FS1 show, Speak for Yourself. Washington used the 2000 third-round pick on Lloyd Harrison, a former cornerback at North Carolina State. Harrison played just two games with the Redskins in 2000 and 16 overall in three NFL seasons before retiring in 2002.
New Orleans gave up practically everything to move up to the fifth spot in 1999 and draft Ricky Williams, the Heisman Trophy-winning running back from Texas. Williams totaled 3,129 yards and 16 touchdowns, but he did not match his considerable hype and left the Saints after just three seasons. Although he ran for 1,245 yards in 2001, he was not selected to the Pro Bowl with New Orleans. That honor (along with an All-Pro selection) came in his first season with the Dolphins, when Williams rushed for a league-leading 1,853 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2002. Although he continued to produce when he was on the field, his time became less frequent after four positive marijuana tests in less than two years. During his full-season suspension in 2006 he played in Canada, with the CFL closing that loophole in the future by enacting a rule that prevented players on drug suspensions in other countries from playing in the league. Williams came back in 2007, spending time with the Dolphins, Ravens, and Patriots before retiring in 2012 to become a yoga instructor and medical cannabis advocate. He finished his 11-year NFL career with 10,009 rushing yards and 68 touchdowns.
Assessment: Bailey, Arrington, and Jansen were solid producers with Washington, but Bailey had his best years with Denver, Arrington had to deal with his agent getting suspended and Jansen had injury issues. Williams was a talented running back, but he spent just three years with New Orleans and was held back by his drug issues and his attitude. REDSKINS
7. (Part One) February 26, 2000:
Redskins acquired: The third overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft
49ers acquired: Two first-round picks, plus fourth- and fifth-rounders in 2000
The Redskins acquired both the second and third overall selections in the 2000 NFL Draft. Washington selected LaVar Arrington in a pick acquired from New Orleans and used the choice from San Francisco to select Chris Samuels, an All-American tackle from Alabama who won the Outland Trophy as college football’s best interior lineman in 1999. Samuels was a member of the All-Rookie Team and was selected to six Pro Bowls with the Redskins. He was diagnosed with spinal stenosis as a child and suffered a helmet-to-helmet hit in a game against the Panthers in October 2009. Samuels retired after the season and served as the assistant offensive line coach with Alabama from 2012-14. Since then, he has worked with several high schools and he is now the offensive coordinator for Northwest High School in Germantown, Maryland.
San Francisco traded three of the four picks, keeping only Ahmed Plummer, a cornerback from Ohio State who was taken 24th overall. Plummer joined Samuels on the All-Rookie Team in 2000. He totaled 12 interceptions in six seasons, including seven in 2001. However, he played just nine games over his final two years after suffering neck and shoulder injuries in 2004 and an ankle injury the following season that required surgery and led to his retirement.
They traded picks turned into Julian Peterson, Jason Webster, and Jeff Ulbrich. Peterson was a Michigan State linebacker who started his career with six years in San Francisco. He was a two-time Pro Bowler and a 2003 All-Pro who totaled 21½ sacks and 402 tackles with the 49ers. Peterson signed with the Seahawks in 2006 and he was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his three seasons with Seattle. He was traded to the Lions in 2009 and played two seasons before retiring shortly after he was released by Detroit in 2011. Webster was a Texas A&M cornerback who had seven interceptions in four seasons with the 49ers. He spent time with the Falcons, Bills, and Patriots before retiring after the 2008 season. Ulbrich was a Hawaii linebacker who had 501 tackles and 5½ sacks in 10 years with San Francisco. He retired after sustaining a severe concussion during the 2009 season. After his playing career, Ulbrich was an assistant special teams coach with the Seahawks, and he also coached linebackers and special teams with UCLA. He has been with the Falcons since 2015 and is now the team’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
Assessment: Peterson was the best of the four players San Francisco acquired in this deal, but none of them were busts. However, Samuels was one of the best tackles in the NFL in the early 2000s. He was a six-time Pro Bowler before neck and spine injuries forced him to retire early. REDSKINS
(Part Two) March 4, 2004:
Redskins acquired: RB Clinton Portis
Broncos acquired: CB Champ Bailey and a second-round pick in the 2004 NFL Draft
Portis was an All-Big East rusher and a member of the University of Miami’s National Championship team in 2001. He was a member of the NFL’s All-Rookie Team in 2002 and made the Pro Bowl the following year with Denver, reaching the 1,500-yard mark in each of his two seasons while posting 29 rushing touchdowns. After the trade, Portis hit the 1,000-yard mark four more times in seven seasons with the Redskins, but he was named to the Pro Bowl just once. He ranks second in Redskins history with 6,824 yards and 46 touchdowns and he finished with 9,923 yards in his nine-year career. Washington released Portis in 2011 and he retired the next year. Portis reportedly suffered at least 10 concussions during his career, and in 2013, he joined with several other NFL players to file a civil lawsuit against the league over head injuries.
Bailey was the seventh overall selection in the 1999 NFL Draft and made the All-Rookie Team after posting five interceptions with Washington. He followed that by making the Pro Bowl in each of the next four seasons while totaling 18 interceptions in 80 games with the Redskins. Bailey continued his strong play after the trade, earning eight Pro Bowl and three All-Pro selections in 10 seasons with the Broncos. He amassed 24 interceptions, including a league-high 10 in 2006. Bailey had four tackles in Denver’s 43-8 loss to Seattle in Super Bowl XLVIII, which turned out to be his final game. He signed with the Saints in 2014 but retired after he was released in the final round of training camp cuts. Bailey was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2019. The Broncos used the pick on Tatum Bell, an Oklahoma State back who ran for 921 yards and a career-high eight touchdowns in 2005. He topped the 1,000-yard mark for the only time when he ran for 1,025 the following year. Bell was traded to Detroit in 2007 and returned to the Broncos the next season, but he was used primarily as a reserve. He spent one year with the Florida Tuskers, helping the team reach the United Football League Championship Game in 2009, and retired the following year.
Assessment: Bailey and Portis were both stars throughout their NFL careers. However, Portis’ short career due to concussions, plus those few seasons from Bell swung the trade-in Denver’s favor. BRONCOS
(Part Three) March 7, 2005:
Redskins acquired: WR Santana Moss
Jets acquired: WR Laveranues Coles
Moss was an All-American wide receiver with the University of Miami in 2000. He spent his first four seasons with the Jets as a receiver and punt returner, and he had 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2003. Moss earned his only Pro Bowl selection in the first year after the trade, posting 84 receptions, a career-high 1,483 yards, and nine scores with the Redskins in 2005. Overall, Moss played 10 seasons in Washington before retiring in 2014. He totaled 581 catches (third in team history), 7,867 yards (fourth), and 47 touchdowns (seventh).
Coles was a Florida State product who overcame multiple arrests in college to have an 11-year professional career. He was drafted by the Jets in the third round in 2000 and spent his first three seasons in New York, posting a career-high 1,264 yards in 2002. He signed with the Redskins in 2003 and made the Pro Bowl after amassing 82 receptions, 1,204 yards, and six touchdowns. After a 90-catch campaign the following year, Coles was traded back to the Jets and had another 1,000-yards season with 1,098 in 2006. During his second stint in New York, Coles said he was abused by his stepfather as a youth. The information led to the man getting sent to prison for nine years. Coles spent one year with the Bengals before going back to the Jets in 2010. However, he did not appear in a game with New York and retired after the season. Coles is fourth in Jets history with 459 receptions, and he ranks fifth in both yards (5,941) and touchdowns (37).
Assessment: This trade is fairly even overall. Moss had a longer career, and Coles was selected to his only Pro Bowl with Washington, but both rank high in their team’s respective receiving categories. PUSH
8. April 28, 2011:
Redskins acquired: First- and second-round picks in 2011
Jaguars acquired: A first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft
The Redskins found a needed pass rusher when they drafted Ryan Kerrigan, a 2010 All-American at Purdue, with the 16th pick in 2011. Kerrigan made the All-Rookie Team at defensive end, then switched to outside linebacker in 2012. He entered the season ranked second in team history with 90 sacks and has since taken over the top spot from 1980s star Dexter Manley. The four-time Pro Bowler also tops the franchise list with 26 forced fumbles. He started the first 139 games of his career before missing four contests in 2019 with a concussion and a calf injury, and he has been a reserve throughout the 2020 season.
Washington traded the second-round pick, which started a series of deals that resulted in the Redskins gaining five picks. Leonard Hankerson, a wide receiver from the University of Miami, was selected in the third round. Hankerson had 81 catches and six touchdowns in four years with Washington and split 2015 between the Falcons, Patriots, and Bills before retiring. He is now an assistant wide receivers coach at Stephen F. Austin State University. The Redskins selected Nebraska running back Roy Helu Jr. early in the fourth round. Helu made the All-Rookie Team after rushing for 640 yards in 2011, but he never came close to that total over his next three seasons with Washington. He spent one unproductive year with the Raiders before retiring in 2016. The pick in the fifth round was DeJon Gomes, a safety from Nebraska, who had 40 tackles and an interception in two seasons with the Redskins. He signed with the Lions in 2013, but he retired after suffering a shoulder injury during a preseason game the following year. SMU wide receiver Aldrick Robinson was chosen in the sixth round. Robinson had just 30 catches in three years with the Redskins and 86 overall in six seasons with five teams. He has not played since the Panthers released him before the 2019 season. In the seventh round, Washington selected offensive lineman Maurice Hurt, who won two National Championships with Florida. Hurt played 21 games in his first two seasons, but never returned to the NFL after having arthroscopic knee surgery in 2013.
This trade allowed the Jaguars to move up six spots to draft Missouri quarterback Blaine Gabbert, who rewarded Jacksonville with a 5-22 record in three seasons before being sent to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick. Gabbert spent three years splitting the starting quarterback spot with Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco. Even though Kaepernick led the 49ers to a Super Bowl XLVII appearance against the Ravens, both he and Gabbert were out of San Francisco after the 2016 season. Gabbert spent a year each with the Cardinals and Titans and missed all of 2019 with the Buccaneers after dislocating his shoulder. He resigned with Tampa Bay in 2020 to be Tom Brady’s backup.
Assessment: Gabbert was a dud in Jacksonville but showed flashes of being a capable starter before he was released by San Francisco. Most of the Washington picks were non-factors, but Kerrigan has been a solid and underrated pass rusher for nearly a decade. REDSKINS
9. March 13, 2012:
Redskins acquired: The second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft
Rams acquired: First- and second-round picks in 2012, plus first-rounders in 2013 and 2014
This trade was reminiscent of the one in 1999 when the Saints sent their entire draft plus a couple of other picks to the Redskins for the right to draft Texas running back Ricky Williams. Washington was involved in this deal as well, but this time most of the selections were leaving the Nation’s Capital in exchange for the second overall pick in 2012. Although the Colts selected Andrew Luck first overall in 2012, no one had a higher upside than Robert Griffin III, whose 2011 season included a Heisman Trophy and All-American honors. The Redskins gave up four picks, including three first-rounders, to draft Griffin, and he didn’t disappoint early in his career. He was voted Offensive Rookie of the Year and also earned a Pro Bowl selection after a 2012 season that included 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns passing, as well as 815 yards and seven scores rushing. Griffin had a slow start in his second year, but he put together a solid season overall. In 2014, he suffered a dislocated left ankle and ended up splitting the starting spot in Washington with Colt McCoy. Griffin suffered a concussion during a 2015 preseason game and did not play at all after losing his starting spot to Kirk Cousins. Griffin spent 2016 as a backup with the Browns and, after going unsigned in 2017, he has been behind Joe Flacco and 2019 NFL MVP Lamar Jackson with the Ravens for the past three seasons.
The Rams received the sixth pick but sent it to the Cowboys, who used it on former LSU All-American cornerback Morris Claiborne. The first pick from the Cowboys was at 14, and the Rams selected Michael Brockers, a defensive lineman who was Claiborne’s teammate at LSU. Brockers has spent his entire nine-year career with the Rams, and he also started in Super Bowl LIII and made seven tackles in the 13-3 loss to the Patriots. Brockers resigned with Los Angeles in March 2020 after a deal with the Ravens fell through. The second-round pick from Dallas was later traded to the Bears (who used it to select South Carolina wide receiver, Alshon Jeffery). The two acquired picks were used on Isaiah Pead and Rokevious Watkins. Pead was a running back from the University of Cincinnati who had a substance abuse policy violation in 2013, missed the entire 2014 season after suffering a torn ACL, and had has career was cut short after a November 2016 car accident that resulted in the loss of part of his left leg. Watkins was an offensive lineman at South Carolina who played just four games in two seasons with the Rams and Chiefs due to weight issues. Watkins signed with the Arizona Rattlers in 2016 but retired without playing a game for the AFL team.
The Rams used Washington’s second-round pick on cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who was a member of Florida’s National Championship team in 2008 and transferred to North Alabama as a senior. Jenkins made the All-Rookie Team and had 10 interceptions, with five returned for touchdowns, in four years with the Rams. He signed with the Giants and made his only Pro Bowl in 2016. “Jackrabbit” played 53 games in New York, but he was waived late in the 2019 season after making insensitive comments on Twitter. He has been with the Saints after they claimed off waivers. St. Louis traded the 2013 first-round pick to Atlanta for three selections that turned into Alec Ogletree, Stedman Bailey, and Zac Stacy. Ogletree was a former Georgia linebacker and high school All-American who spent his first five seasons with the Rams. Despite missing most of the 2015 season with a broken fibula, he made at least 100 tackles three times with the Rams. Ogletree continued his solid play the past two seasons with the Giants, making 173 stops and returning two interceptions for scores. New York released him in February 2020. Bailey was a 2012 All-American wide receiver at West Virginia, but he had just 59 receptions in three seasons with the Rams. While on a substance-abuse suspension in November 2015, Bailey and three relatives were shot in a drive-by incident in Florida. He survived two gunshot wounds to the head, but never played in the NFL again. Stacy had a pair of 1,000-yard rushing seasons at Vanderbilt but never reached that mark during his three-year NFL career. He had 973 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie in 2013, but after the Rams drafted Todd Gurley, he was traded to the Jets, where he played just eight games before leaving the NFL. Stacy had a failed tryout with the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders and spent time with the Memphis Express in the Alliance of American Football before the league folded.
The Rams’ first-round pick in 2014 turned out to be the second overall selection, which was used on former Auburn tackle Greg Robinson. The highly-touted prospect has been ineffective at the pro level, playing 83 games over six seasons with the Rams, Lions, and Browns. In February 2020, Robinson and former Colts, wide receiver Quan Bray was arrested in Texas trying to transport more than 150 pounds of marijuana from Los Angeles to Louisiana. If convicted, those charges could bring both a 20-year prison sentence.
Assessment: The picks St. Louis received in this trade were a mixed bag. Brockers, Ogletree, and Jenkins have developed into solid NFL players. Bailey, Stacy, and Watkins were unable to produce in limited playing time, Pead suffered a career-ending accident and Robinson was a draft bust. Griffin was solid at the start of his career, but injuries and inconsistent play forced him to the bench. RAMS
10. March 14, 2018:
Redskins acquired: QB Alex Smith
Chiefs acquired: CB Kendall Fuller and a third-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft
Smith was an All-American quarterback at Utah and selected by the 49ers with the top pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. He missed the 2008 season with a broken bone in his shoulder, but he recovered and became a solid starter who led San Francisco to the 2011 NFC Championship Game (a 20-17 overtime loss to the eventual champion Giants). Smith was dealt to the Chiefs in 2013, and he was selected to three Pro Bowls in five seasons with Kansas City. Although he was known as a “game-manager,” he threw for at least 3,000 yards in each season with the Chiefs, posting career highs with 4,042 yards and 26 touchdowns in 2017. With Patrick Mahomes ready to become the starter, Kansas City traded Smith to Washington the following year. He started off 6-3 but suffered a broken tibia and fibula on a sack by J.J. Watt and Kareem Jackson during a game against the Texans. Smith’s injury was nearly identical to the one Joe Theismann suffered against the Giants in 1985, and the injuries occurred on the same day 33 years apart. After nearly two years out of action, which included an infection that nearly cost Smith his leg, he returned in Week 5 of the 2020 season and has since regained his starting spot with Washington. Smith ranks third in Chiefs history with 17,608 yards and fifth with 102 touchdowns.
Fuller was an All-ACC cornerback with Virginia Tech in 2014. He was a third-round pick of the Redskins and had four interceptions with Washington before the trade. Fuller spent two seasons with Kansas City, registering four tackles, two passes defensed and an interception in a 34-20 victory over San Francisco in Super Bowl LIV. He returned to the Redskins in early 2020 and has four interceptions so far this season. The pick was sent to the Bengals, which brought Breeland Speaks and Dorian O’Daniel to the Chiefs. Speaks is a former Mississippi defensive end who had 24 tackles and 1½ sacks as a rookie. He missed all of 2019 after having knee surgery and receiving a four-game substance-abuse suspension. Speaks was cut by the Chiefs, had a failed tryout with the Raiders, and is now on the Cowboys’ practice squad. O’Daniel is a linebacker who was a member of Clemson’s National Championship team in 2016. He has played 41 games as a reserve with Kansas City, and he had one tackle in Super Bowl LIV. O’Daniel is currently on injured reserve with a high ankle sprain.
Assessment: Although the players Kansas City acquired played a part in a Super Bowl title, only Fuller was a starter and he is now back with Washington. Speaks is no longer with Kansas City and O’Daniel is primarily a special teams player. Smith’s time with Washington was derailed by a leg injury that nearly led to amputation and cost him almost two years of playing time. However, he is still mobile and capable of being a leader on and off the field. REDSKINS
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of profootballreference.com
As promised, here is a look back at the completed Trade History series. Just click on the team name to see the story: Cardinals, Falcons, Ravens, Bills, Panthers, Bears, Bengals, Browns, Cowboys, Broncos, Lions, Packers, Texans, Colts, Jaguars, Chiefs, Raiders, Chargers, Rams, Dolphins, Vikings, Patriots, Saints, Giants, Jets, Eagles, Steelers, 49ers, Seahawks, Buccaneers, and Titans.
Writer
-By: Kevin Rakas
