Mohamed Sanu is now a member of the undefeated New England Patriots. Just hours after the news of that deal went down, news broke that the also-undefeated San Francisco 49ers had traded for fellow receiver Emmanuel Sanders, who will look to bring his championship experience to the west coast. These are just two of the many deals that will go down between now and Oct. 29, the trade deadline day for NFL teams.
Each NFL team participating in a trade over the next week will want to join the following list of the greatest deals at the trade deadline in NFL history. Each of these trades helped change the fortune of at least one franchise. One trade in particular was the launching pad of one of the greatest teams in NFL history.
5. Raiders acquire Hall of Famer Mike Haynes from Patriots
Mike Haynes, one of the greatest cornerbacks of his era, wanted out of New England heading into the 1983 season. After sitting out the first half of the season, the Patriots traded him to the Raiders in exchange for Los Angeles’ first-round pick in 1984 and third-round pick in 1985.
In Los Angeles, Hayes teamed up with Lester Hayes to form one of the NFL’s all-time cornerback duos. The duo helped the Raiders win that year’s Super Bowl, as Los Angeles shut down Washington’s high-scoring offense in a 38-9 victory.
4. Patriots send Jimmy Garoppolo to 49ers
This story will dominate the buildup to Super Bowl LIV if the 49ers and Patriots represent their respective conferences in this year’s Big Game. Garoppolo, New England’s second-round pick in the 2014 draft, was expected to be Tom Brady’s heir apparent whenever Brady decides to hang up his cleats. But in 2017, the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick traded Garopoolo to San Francisco, where he has built a 14-2 record as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. The Patriots, meanwhile, have appeared in two Super Bowls — winning one — after trading Garoppolo, as Brady continues to play at a high level at age 42.
3. Seahawks acquire ‘Beast Mode’ from Bills
Despite rushing for over 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, Lynch was found to be expendable by the Bills midway through the 2010 season. Before the deadline, the Buffalo traded Lynch to Seattle in exchange for a 2011 fourth-round pick and a 2012 fifth rounder.
Simply put, Lynch and the Seahawks were the perfect fit. After running over the defending champion Saints in the 2010 wild card round, Lynch earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first four full seasons in Seattle.
He was among Seattle’s key figures during the team’s Super Bowl run in 2013 and NFC championship run in 2014. In six seasons with the Seahawks, Lynch rushed for 6,347 yards and 79 touchdowns during the regular season 937 yards and nine scores in 11 postseason games.
2. Rams deal Eric Dickerson to Colts
In 1987, the Rams and Colts stunned the NFL when Indianapolis traded two players, three first-round picks and three second-round picks to Los Angeles in exchange for Dickerson, the league’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year who in 1984 became the first player in NFL history to rush for over 2,100 yards in a season.
Dickerson led the Colts to the playoffs in 1987, their first playoff appearance since the franchise moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. The following season, Dickerson led the NFL in rushing, before rushing for over 1,311 yards in 1989.
The Rams, despite losing Dickerson, would make the playoffs in each of the next three seasons that included a trip to the NFC Championship Game in 1989.
The Buffalo Bills were also part of this trade, giving up several assets that included future high picks in exchange for future All-Pro linebacker Cornelius Bennett, who would help the Bills become the first team in NFL history to appear in four consecutive Super Bowls during the 1990s.
1. Cowboys trade Herschel Walker in ‘great train robbery’
“I find out that we had just traded the only guy on our team that was really any good. And I couldn’t believe it.”
Troy Aikman, needless to say, wasn’t thrilled upon hearing the news that the Dallas Cowboys and new head coach Jimmy Johnson had traded their best player, running back Herschel Walker, to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a bounty of future draft picks. Walker, a former Heisman Trophy winner and 1,500-yard back the previous season, was leaving a team that would ultimately go 1-15 during Johnson’s first season in Dallas. While the trade was widely unpopular at the time, Johnson was confident that it was the right thing to do.
“One agent said it’s the biggest trade he has ever seen in the NFL,” Johnson said during a press conference following the trade, “and one owner said it’s a great train robbery. Whatever it is, we’re happy with it.”
The Cowboys used the picks to help build what would become one of the best rosters in NFL history. In 1990, they used their first pick acquired from the trade to select Emmitt Smith, who would go onto become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. Over the following two drafts, the Cowboys would select future Pro Bowl defensive tackle Russell Maryland, perennial starting cornerback Kevin Smith, and future three-time All-Pro safety Darren Woodson.
Along with several other acquisitions, the Cowboys went from NFL doormats to NFL champions. In 1992, just three years after pulling off the greatest deadline deal in league history, Dallas won the first of its three Super Bowl wins over a four-year span.
“I couldn’t understand it at the time, but I’m glad they viewed it differently,” Aikman said during an interview with NFL Films. “It certainly got us over the hump in a hurry.”