3 worst trades in Washington Football Team history
By Jerry Trotta
The 2021 NFL trade deadline has passed and Washington Football Team chose to remain dormant instead of making any splash moves.
As we noted in a recent article, you could’ve made the case for Washington buying, selling or standing pat and using the rest of the campaign to evaluate the roster and see who deserves to come back next year.
If Washington chose to buy, we would’ve endorsed upgrading positions like wide receiver and linebacker. The good news is that Ron Rivera and Co. didn’t show any form of desperation, because that likely would’ve resulted in them getting fleeced and the last thing this franchise needs is more bad publicity.
With no trades to react to, why don’t we take a stroll down memory lane and highlight some of the worst trades in Washington’s history? There are a plethora of worthy candidates, but which deals made the cut?
3 worst trades in Washington Football Team history
3. Why did they trade for TJ Duckett?
Almost every team in the NFL has made a head-scratching trade. It’s part of the business. No GM has a perfect batting average.
With that being said, Washington’s decision to part ways with a third-round draft pick in 2007 in a three-team deal with Atlanta and Denver that saw them net TJ Duckett was beyond head-scratching. It was mind-numbing.
The cardinal rule of trade-making is to not act out of desperation … or at least not show your desperation during negotiations.
After Clinton Portis landed on injured reserve before the season, Washington reeked of desperation and what did they get in return? 10 games and 132 yards on 3.5 yards per carry worth of Duckett.
The former first-round pick didn’t start any games for Washington. That’s part of what made the trade so difficult to comprehend. They already had Ladell Betts and Mike Sellers waiting in the wings behind Portis.
In failing to trust Betts and Sellers, Washington landed an RB who quickly found himself buried on the depth chart for regularly blowing blocking assignments, missing team meetings and failing to impress as a runner.
What a laugher of a trade.