The Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders enjoyed a 17-year run that would give most teams great pride. From 1967-83, the franchise made the playoffs 13 times, earned 11 trips to the conference championship game, and played in four Super Bowls, winning three (1976, ’80 and ’83). More than half a dozen players from the trades on this list played key roles in those three title runs, with several earning induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There is one notable absence on this list, that being the 2002 trade-in which Tampa Bay traded four draft picks and $8 million for Oakland coach Jon Gruden, a deal which will be covered in-depth when we look at the Buccaneers.
1. January 21, 1967:
Raiders acquired: CB Willie Brown and QB Mickey Slaughter
Broncos acquired: DT Rex Mirich and a third-round pick in the 1967 NFL/AFL Draft
Brown was a Grambling State product who went undrafted in 1963 and was signed by the Broncos after the Oilers cut him in training camp. He spent four seasons with Denver, making two AFL All-Star Games, including 1964, when he was also named an All-Pro after posting nine interceptions. With Oakland, Brown became one of the best cornerbacks in the league, earning seven AFL All-Star/Pro Bowl and four All-Pro selections. His 39 interceptions are tied with Lester Hayes for the most in Raiders history, and he also had seven more in 17 playoff games, including one he returned 75 yards for a touchdown in a 32-14 win over the Vikings in Super Bowl XI. After retiring in 1978, Brown spent the next 10 years as the Raiders’ defensive backs coach and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984. He was a head coach at Long Beach State in 1991 and at Jordan High School in Los Angeles in 1994. Brown rejoined Oakland as Director of Staff Development the following year, and he held the position until his death in 2019. Slaughter played in college at Louisiana Tech and had a 2-15-2 record in four seasons with the Broncos. He retired after the trade and became an offensive coach with his alma mater, where he worked with the future NFL such as Pro Bowl wide receiver Pat Tilley and Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
Mirich was a Northern Arizona product who chose the Raiders over the Vikings after he was drafted by both teams in 1963. He played all 42 games, mostly as a reserve, over three seasons in Oakland. After the trade, he alternated between defensive end and tackle with the Broncos, appearing in 34 games over three seasons. Mirich finished his career by playing seven games with the Patriots in 1970. Denver traded the pick to the Bills for defensive lineman Dave Costa, a former starter at Utah who was drafted by Oakland in 1963. He spent three years with the Raiders and one with the Bills and was named an All-Star as a rookie. Costa played five seasons with the Broncos, earning All-Star selections in his first three years in the Mile High City. He spent two years with the Chargers and returned to the Bills for one final season in 1974.
Assessment: Costa was a solid starter who earned three AFL All-Star selections with Denver, but Brown was a Hall of Famer and arguably the best cornerback of his era. RAIDERS
2. September 12, 1975:
Raiders acquired: LB Ted Hendricks
Packers acquired: First-round picks in the 1976 and ’77 NFL drafts
Hendricks was already one of the league’s best linebackers before coming to the Raiders. He was a two-time All-American at the University of Miami, earned three Pro Bowl selections and one All-Pro nod, and he also won a championship with the Baltimore Colts. Hendricks was a Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 1974, his only season with the Packers, but Green Bay traded him after he signed a futures contract with the upstart World Football League. Called the “Mad Stork” because of his tall, thin frame, Hendricks continued to improve in Oakland under the tutelage of John Madden, who used him both at linebacker and defensive end. Hendricks earned four Pro Bowl and two All-Pro selections while being a key member of three Raiders championships. He retired after the 1983 season, with his final game being a 38-9 victory over the Redskins in Super Bowl XVIII. Hendricks was chosen for the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990.
The Packers used the 1976 first-round pick on Mark Koncar, a tackle from Colorado. Koncar started 52 of the 53 games he played with Green Bay. He missed all of the 1978 season with a knee injury and all but one game in 1980 due to a torn Achilles tendon. Koncar was traded to the Oilers in 1982 and played five games before retiring after the season. The 1977 pick became Ezra Johnson, a defensive end from Morris Brown, a private Methodist college in Atlanta. Johnson was credited with 41½ sacks in his 11-year Packers career, but the statistic was not officially kept by the NFL until 1982, halfway through his Green Bay tenure. He made his lone Pro Bowl in 1978 after posting an unofficial 20½ sacks, which is credited as the team record. Johnson was slowed by knee injuries later in his career and was released by the Packers after the 1987 season. He spent two years each with the Colts and Oilers before retiring in 1991. Although Johnson was known for his relentless pursuit of NFL quarterbacks, he is best remembered for eating a hot dog on the sidelines during the fourth quarter of a blowout exhibition loss in 1980. The incident ended with him being fined $1,000 by Packers head coach Bart Starr and the resignation of defensive line coach Fred von Appen, who was upset that Johnson wasn’t suspended.
Assessment: Johnson was a star for more than a decade and is a member of the Packers Hall of Fame. Hendricks was one of the NFL’s best linebackers who was a part of four championship teams and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. RAIDERS
3. August 26, 1976:
Raiders acquired: A 12th-round pick in the 1977 NFL Draft
Packers acquired: WR Ollie Smith
The NFL only gives teams seven rounds to find hidden draft gems today. In 1976, there were 12 rounds, with the Raiders selecting USC linebacker Rod Martin in the final round. Martin was selected after Oakland’s first Super Bowl victory, but he played a major role in the next two. He had five tackles and three interceptions in a 27-10 win over the Eagles in Super Bowl XV and had five stops, a sack and a fumble recovery in a victory against the Redskins three years later. Martin played his entire 12-year career with the Raiders, totaling 14 interceptions and 33½ sacks, including a career-high 11 in his 1984 All-Pro season. The two-time Pro Bowler retired after the 1988 season.
Smith was a Tennessee State product who was used sparingly during his first two seasons with the Baltimore Colts. He signed with the Raiders in 1975, but did not play. After the trade, Smith spent two years in Green Bay, totaling 44 receptions for 772 yards and his only NFL touchdown. He retired after the 1977 season.
Assessment: Smith was hardly able to get on the field during his career, while Martin became a star whose best games were also the most important ones for his team. RAIDERS
4. (Part One) March 15, 1980:
Raiders acquired: QB Dan Pastorini
Oilers acquired: QB Ken Stabler
(Part Two) April 20, 1980:
Raiders acquired: RB Kenny King
Oilers acquired: S Jack Tatum, along with seventh-round picks in the 1980 and ’81 NFL Drafts
(Part Three) October 14, 1980:
Raiders acquired: First- and second-round picks in the 1981 NFL Draft and a second-rounder in 1982
Oilers acquire: TE Dave Casper
Most of the stars from that 17-year period of success were involved in these three trades that were made in 1980. Pastorini for Stabler was a rare straight-up deal involving starting quarterbacks. Pastorini was a Santa Clara product who spent his first nine seasons starting in Houston. The 1975 Pro Bowler led the Oilers to the playoffs twice, including 1978, when the team reached the AFC Championship Game (a 34-5 loss to the Steelers). Pastorini suffered a broken leg in the fifth game of the 1980 season, which led to Jim Plunkett taking over and leading the Raiders to the title. Pastorini played one year each with the Rams and Eagles before retiring in 1984. He faced addiction to alcohol and painkillers throughout his career, was arrested multiple times for drunk driving, and shared his experiences in a book he wrote in 2011.
Stabler won a National Championship with Alabama in 1965 and was an All-American two years later. During his 10-year stay in Oakland, he was named the league’s MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and an All-Pro in 1974 after throwing for 2,469 yards and an NFL-high 26 touchdowns. “Snake” was a four-time Pro Bowler, led the NFL in scoring passes twice, and won a title with the Raiders in Super Bowl XI. He led the Oilers to the playoffs in the first season after the trade, but lost to Plunkett and his former team in the Wild Card round. After two seasons in Houston and three in New Orleans, Stabler retired in 1984. He died from colon cancer in 2015 and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame the following year.
King was a running back at Oklahoma under future Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer. King had only three total touches as a rookie before the trade, but became a starter and earned his only Pro Bowl selection during Oakland’s 1980 title season. His 80-yard reception from Plunkett in Super Bowl XV stood as a game record for 16 years. When the Raiders brought in Marcus Allen, King shifted to fullback. He helped create holes for Allen’s 191-yard, two-touchdown performance in a Super Bowl XVIII win over the Redskins. King stayed with the Raiders until 1985 and, after a year out of football, he finished his career with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats in 1987.
Tatum was a two-time All-American and a two-time champion with Ohio State. He was a three-time Pro Bowler who totaled 20 interceptions and eight fumble recoveries in nine seasons with the Raiders. Tatum played just one season with Houston, posting seven interceptions. While he won a title with Oakland in Super Bowl XV, Tatum is remembered for two moments. First, he collided with Steelers running back John “Frenchy” Fuqua during the 1972 Division Round game that led to Franco Harris’ “Immaculate Reception” and a 13-7 Pittsburgh victory. The other occurred in the 1978 preseason, when his tackle of Darryl Stingley broke the fourth and fifth cervical vertebrae and left the promising Patriots receiver a partial quadriplegic. The picks became Craig Bradshaw and Don Washington. Bradshaw, the brother of Steelers legend Terry Bradshaw, was a Utah State quarterback who did not throw a pass in two games with the Oilers during his only season in 1980. Washington was a former defensive back at Texas A&I (now called Texas A&M-Kingsville) who never played in the NFL.
The Raiders turned Casper into three picks and used them on Ted Watts, Howie Long, and Jack Squirek. Watts, a former Texas Tech cornerback, had four interceptions in four years with the Raiders. He also was a punt returner as a rookie and played in Super Bowl XVIII. He spent one year each with the Giants and Chargers before retiring in 1987. Long was a defensive end at Villanova and spent his entire 13-year career with the Raiders. He was an eight-time Pro Bowler and a two-time All-Pro. His 84 sacks rank second in team history and include three straight double-digit seasons from 1983-85. The Super Bowl XVIII starter became an actor after he retired in 1993 and later turned to broadcasting. He is now an analyst with FOX’s NFL game-day coverage. Squirek played in college at Illinois and was mostly a backup linebacker during his four seasons with the Raiders. Despite his reserve status, Squirek returned an interception for a touchdown in Super Bowl XVIII. He spent 1986 with the Dolphins and retired after the season.
Casper was moved despite earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections in each of the previous four seasons. The 1973 All-American and National Champion with Notre Dame made the Pro Bowl for his fifth and final time in 1980. He spent two full seasons in Houston and was traded to the Vikings, where he played 10 games in 1983. He returned to the Raiders for one final season before retiring in 1984. Nicknamed “Ghost” due to the popular cartoon character Casper, the tight end was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and now works as an insurance company financial representative.
Assessment: Neither quarterback involved in the first trade did much afterward, so that is a push. In the second trade, King played his best in big games, while Tatum had a great year with Houston then retired (also a Push). That leaves it up to the third trade. Casper was a star with Oakland, but faded after going to Houston. Long became a superstar who was one of the best of his era at getting to opposing quarterbacks. RAIDERS
5. November 11, 1983:
Raiders acquired: CB Mike Haynes and a seventh-round pick in the 1985 NFL Draft
Patriots acquired: A First-round pick in 1984 and a second-rounder in 1985
Haynes was a cornerback from Arizona State who made the Pro Bowl in six of his seven seasons with New England. He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1976 after posting eight interceptions and three fumble recoveries, and he totaled 28 interceptions with the Patriots. He also was a stellar punt returner, both in college and with New England. Although Haynes played just five games in 1983, he ended his first season in Los Angeles with an interception in the Super Bowl XVIII win over Washington. Haynes was named to the Pro Bowl in each of the next three seasons and also earned two All-Pro selections. He retired after the 1989 season and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1997. The Raiders used the pick on former Penn State center Nick Haden, who spent his rookie year on the practice squad and played eight games with the Eagles in his only NFL season in 1986.
New England sent the first-round pick acquired from Oakland, along with three others, to Cincinnati for the top overall selection in the 1984 NFL Draft. With that pick, the Patriots took Irving Fryar, a 1983 All-American wide receiver from Nebraska. Fryar played nine years with the Patriots, earning a Pro Bowl selection in 1985. New England reached Super Bowl XX that season, with Fryar scoring his team’s lone touchdown in a 46-10 loss to the Bears. After leaving New England, Fryar was selected to the Pro Bowl twice each with Miami and Philadelphia, and he ended his career with Washington in 2000. He ranks sixth in Patriots history with 5,726 yards, seventh with 38 touchdowns and eighth with 363 catches. Fryar also 2,055 punt return yards and three scores. His best season with New England was 1983, when he totaled 68 receptions and 1,014 yards. Fryar had legal problems after his career, as he was arrested multiple times for fraud, including a 2015 conviction with his mother for a mortgage scam. The 1985 second-round pick was used on Central Michigan safety Jim Bowman, who played in Super Bowl XX. He played in 72 games and had three interceptions in five years with the Patriots before retiring in 1989.
Assessment: This trade got a lot more difficult to assess when you factor in the deal that brought New England the top pick in 1984. Both Haynes and Fryar had Super Bowl moments, but Haynes had more individual accolades after the trade. RAIDERS
6. (Part One) March 3, 2005:
Raiders acquired: WR Randy Moss
Vikings acquired: LB Napoleon Harris, along with first- and seventh-round picks in the 2005 NFL Draft
(Part Two) April 29, 2007:
Raiders acquired: A fourth-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft
Patriots acquired: WR Randy Moss
Moss was a member of Marshall’s Division I-AA National Championship team in 1996 and earned All-American honors and the Biletnikoff Award (as college football’s best wide receiver) the following year. He was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1998, had seven 1,000-yard seasons, and led the NFL in touchdowns three times. Moss was selected to five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams, and he ranks second in Vikings history with 587 catches, 9,316 yards and 92 scores. After the trade, Moss struggled in Oakland. He had 1,005 yards in 2005, but frustration in the Raiders’ losing ways caused the total to drop to 553 the following year. His two-year tenure on the West Coast came to an end when he was traded to the Patriots during the 2010 NFL Draft.
The Raiders only received a fourth-round pick for the five-time Pro Bowler, and they used it on John Bowie, a former University of Cincinnati cornerback. Bowie appeared in five games on special teams in three seasons and missed all of 2008 with a knee injury. He spent the 2010 season with the United Football League’s Hartford Colonials and was on the Bengals’ practice squad for the next two years. He retired in 2013 after a failed tryout with the CFL’s Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
Harris was a former star linebacker with Northwestern who had a seven-year NFL career. He had 252 tackles and 2½ sacks in three years with Oakland and, like Moss, lasted just two seasons with his new team after the trade. Harris played his final two years in Kansas City, posting a career-high 116 tackles in 2007 and retiring the following year. He has been a State Senator for Illinois’ 15th district since 2013. The Vikings turned the two 2005 picks into Troy Williamson and Adrian Ward. Williamson was a wide receiver from South Carolina who many consider a bust as the seventh overall selection. In three years with Minnesota, he had 1,067 yards and three touchdowns receiving, as well as 903 yards on punt returns. Williamson was traded to Jacksonville and had two uneventful seasons before the Jaguars released him in 2010 and he retired soon afterward. Ward was a cornerback who played in college at Texas-El Paso. He was released by the Vikings in training camp in 2005 and spent his only NFL season on the Giants’ practice squad. He signed with the CFL’s Calgary Stampeders two years later, but never played for the team.
Moss had a resurgence in New England, earning Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors after posting 98 receptions, 1,493 yards and a league-high 23 touchdowns with the 16-0 Patriots in 2007. He had a touchdown in Super Bowl XLII, but the Giants ended New England’s bid for a perfect season with a 17-14 victory. Moss combined for 3,904 yards and 50 scores with the Patriots, but he demanded a trade in 2010 after failing to procure a contract extension. He was traded back to the Vikings, but lasted just four games before he was released and signed with the Titans. After a yearlong retirement, Moss signed with San Francisco and helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl XLVII, where they lost to the Ravens. After his official retirement in 2013, Moss became an analyst for ESPN’s NFL coverage and was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Assessment: Honestly, if we were going by the entire careers of all the players involved, Minnesota would win, since they traded away Moss before his debacle of a stint in Oakland. Still, his three full seasons in New England were far better than the entire careers of all the other players in these deals. PATRIOTS
7. October 18, 2011:
Raiders acquired: QB Carson Palmer
Bengals acquired: A first-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and a second-rounder in 2013
Palmer was the 2002 Heisman Trophy and the top pick in the 2003 NFL Draft. He was a two-time Pro Bowler who threw for 3,000 yards five times in seven seasons with the Bengals. Palmer wanted to be traded after the 2010 season, but owner Mike Brown declined and selected TCU quarterback Andy Dalton in the second round. After Jason Campbell suffered a collarbone injury, the quarterback-starved Raiders, led by new head coach Hue Jackson (who was a former Cincinnati assistant), acquired Palmer. In two seasons with Oakland, he posted a paltry 8-16 record and was traded to the Cardinals in 2013. Palmer helped Arizona reach the NFC Championship Game two years later after posting career highs and team records with 4,671 yards and 35 touchdowns. He retired in 2018.
Cincinnati used the first-round pick to select cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, who was a member of Alabama National Championship teams in 2010 and ’12. He spent eight seasons with the Bengals before he was released in early 2020. Kirkpatrick played 99 games, posting 10 interceptions, three sacks, and 302 tackles with Cincinnati. The Bengals took North Carolina running back Giovani Bernard with the 2013 second-rounder. Bernard was a member of the All-Rookie Team and has 3,281 career yards in seven seasons. Despite his production, Bernard has been behind Jeremy Hill and Joe Mixon on the team’s depth chart throughout his career.
Assessment: Palmer had a better overall career, but he struggled during his two-year stint in Oakland. Kirkpatrick and Bernard have been solid and consistent players in Cincinnati since the trade. BENGALS
8. September 1, 2018:
Raiders acquired: First- and sixth-round picks in 2019 and first- and third-round picks in 2020
Bears acquired: LB Khalil Mack along with second- and seventh-round picks in the 2020 NFL Draft
Oakland used the 2019 first-rounder on running back Josh Jacobs, who was part of Alabama’s National Championship team in 2017. He led all NFL rookies with 1,150 yards and seven rushing touchdowns last year. The Raiders were busy in the 2019 Draft, making more than half a dozen trades overall. In the end, the sixth-round pick from Chicago turned into the following players through other deals: Second-rounder Trayvon Mullen was a two-time National Champion with Clemson who started 10 games for the Raiders at cornerback in 2019; fourth-round pick Isaiah Johnson was a University of Houston product who played five games as a reserve safety; another fourth-rounder, former LSU tight end Foster Moreau, had 21 catches and five touchdowns as a rookie; fifth-round pick Hunter Renfrow was a teammate of Mullen’s with Clemson and ranked third on the Raiders with 605 receiving yards and four scores in 2019; finally, seventh-rounder Quinton Bell was a defensive end from Prairie View A&M who was cut in training camp and spent the season on Tampa Bay’s practice squad. The 2020 picks were Ohio State cornerback Damon Arnette, who was taken in the first round and third-rounder Bryan Edwards, a wideout who holds South Carolina records for catches and receiving yards. Jacobs, Renfrow, and Mullen will all be starters for the Raiders this season.
Mack has been a star in two seasons with the Bears. Oakland traded Mack to cut salary, and he has been to a pair of Pro Bowls with Chicago, while also being named an All-Pro in 2019 after posting 12½ sacks. He also has made 94 tackles and forced 11 fumbles during his tenure in Chicago. The Bears selected former Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet, in the second round of the 2020 Draft, and he is penciled in as the starter on Chicago’s depth chart. The seventh-round pick was Arlington Hambright, an offensive tackle from Colorado.
Assessment: Most of these players are still being evaluated based on potential, rather than production. Jacobs and Renfrow could be stars in the making, but Mack is one of the most intimidating defensive players in the NFL. BEARS
9. October 22, 2018:
Raiders acquired: A first-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft
Cowboys acquired: WR Amari Cooper
With the first-round pick, the Raiders selected Johnathan Abram, a 2018 All-SEC safety with Mississippi State. Abram made five tackles in his first game, but suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder and missed the rest of the season. He is currently slated to start for the Raiders at free safety this season.
Cooper was a member of Alabama’s 2012 National Championship team as a freshman, and he was an All-American, Biletnikoff Award winner and Heisman Trophy finalist two years later. The All-Rookie Team member was a two-time Pro Bowler and went over the 1,000-yard mark in his first two seasons, but was slowed by a concussion in 2018. Cooper joined Mack as a castoff when the Raiders decided to cut salary, but Oakland’s loss was Dallas’ gain. He was selected to Pro Bowls in each of the past two seasons, and posted career highs with 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns in 2019. Cooper signed a five-year, $100 million extension with the Cowboys in March 2020.
Assessment: Based on Abram’s injury, it may be best to wait another year or two before critiquing this trade. However, Cooper is already a star and is clearly the best wide receiver in the NFC East. COWBOYS
10. March 13, 2019:
Raiders acquired: WR Antonio Brown
Steelers acquired: Third- and fifth-round picks in the 2019 NFL Draft
Brown was a two-time All-American wide receiver at Central Michigan. During his nine-year stay in Pittsburgh, he was selected to seven Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams. Brown went over the 1,000-yard mark seven times, registered 100 or more receptions in six seasons and led the NFL twice in each category. He played in two AFC Championship Games with Pittsburgh and appeared in Super Bowl XLV as a rookie following the 2010 season. “AB” ranks second in team history with 837 catches, 11,207 yards, and 74 scores, but he feuded with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and felt increasingly dissatisfied with his role with the team, leading to the trade.
His tumultuous tenure in Oakland lasted less than six months before he imploded. His litany of transgressions includes: Missing time with frostbite after a cryotherapy session; threatening to retire rather than wear a new league-sanctioned helmet and missing practices then threatening Raiders general manager Mike Mayock after being fined. Brown was released in early September and faced legal issues after he was signed by the Patriots. In the past year, he has had sexual assault allegations brought against him by multiple women, faced charges stemming from a 2018 incident in which he threw furniture out of his 14th-floor apartment window and was charged with burglary and battery after he and another man attacked a moving truck driver. Despite being a free agent, Brown was suspended eight games for league personal conduct policy violations on July 31, 2020.
The Steelers used the two picks on Diontae Johnson and Zach Gentry. Johnson was a Toledo product who posted 59 catches, 680 yards, and five touchdowns as a receiver, along with 248 yards and a score on punt returns. He will be the primary slot receiver behind JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington in Pittsburgh this season. Gentry converted from quarterback to tight end as a freshman at Michigan. He had one catch in four games with the Steelers in 2019.
Assessment: I am not a fan of this word, but literally any production from the draft picks puts them ahead of Brown’s debacle of time in Oakland. Johnson may never become a superstar, but showed promise as a rookie. Brown was arguably the best receiver in the NFL during his prime, but his only league-leading stat since this trade is the number of mentions in the “Loser” category in my “The List” columns. STEELERS
All NFL statistics and awards courtesy of https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
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