Best and Worst Saints trades (1 Viewer)

[Cuozzo67]

Please feel free to add your opinions ... since there's not much happening at the moment, I thought some of you might be interested in this topic.


BEST TRADES:
There haven't been very many in the history of the franchise ... plus trades don't happen as much now as before free agency ...

1980: Saints traded RB Chuck Muncie to SD Chargers for 1981 2nd round draft pick. The Saints used the pick to select LB Ricky Jackson from U. of Pittsburgh.

1986: Saints swapped 1st round draft picks with Indy Colts. Colts moved up a couple of slots and selected DL Jon Hand from Alabama. Saints moved down and selected OL Jim Dombrowski. Saints also received 3rd round choice of Indy for trading down. Saints used this pick to select LB Pat Swilling from Georgia Tech.

1985: Saints traded rights to USFL DB David Greenwood to Tampa Bay Bucs in exchange for a 1986 3rd round draft choice. Saints used this pick to select RB Reuben Mayes from Washington State. Bum made a lot of bad trades (Campbell and Todd), but give him some credit for this one. Finks and Mora actually made the pick, however.

1994: Saints acqurie QB Jim Everette from Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a 1994 7th round draft choice. I don't think the player the Rams picked w/that 7th rounder even made their squad.

1968: Traded QB Gary Cuozzo to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for Minnesota's 1st round picks in 1968 and 1969. Wasn't sure whether to include this one or not. The Saints actually got great value for the trade, but ultimately wasted the picks ... It's complicated ... but basically the Saints ended up with TE Dave Parks (from 49'ers) and G John Shinners (1969 1st round pick from Xavier) with these picks. Parks was a good player, but actually cost two 1st round picks after the Saints signed him away from San Francisco.


WORST TRADES:
There have been way too many bad trades in the history of the franchise ... especially during the early years ... and even as late as 2003 (trading up to get J. Sullivan)

1990: Traded 1991 1st and 3rd round picks, plus a 1992 2nd round pick, to Dallas in exchange for quarterback Steve Walsh. Bobby Hebert's holdout and John Fourcade's 3-game hot streak at the end of 1989 contributed to this one. Instead of signing Hebert, Jim Finks was stubborn, and the Saints convinced themselves that Fourcade was a starter.

1999: Traded all 1999 draft picks, plus a 2000 1st round pick, to Washington Redskins in exchange for the Redskins 1999 first round draft choice. With that pick, the Saints selected RB Ricky Williams.

1973: Saints traded their 1st round pick in 1973 draft (2nd overall pick) to Baltimore Colts in exchange for DE Billy Newsome and a 4th round pick. Saints selected LB Jim Merlo from Stanford w/that 4th pick. The Colts selected QB Bert Jones from LSU w/the 2nd pick of the 1973 draft.

1968: Saints traded a 1969 2nd round draft pick to Baltimore Colts in exchange for RB Tony Lorick. Lorick had 2 forgettable seasons with NO. The Colts selected future Hall of Fame LB Ted Hendricks from Miami with that 2nd round pick in 1969.

1969: Saints traded WR John Gilliam to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for DE Dave Long and 1969 2nd round draft pick. The Saints selected DE Richard Neal from Southern U w/that pick from the Cardinals. Neal and Long weren't bad, but Gilliam became a great player with St. Louis and a superstar when he went to Minnesota. Ironically, he was traded to Minnesota from St. Louis in exchange for QB Gary Cuozzo.

1967: Traded 1st round pick in 1967 draft (1st pick overall) to Baltimore Colts for QB Gary Cuozzo. The Colts selected Michigan State DE Bubba Smith. Cuozzo was touted as the NFL's best second string QB who could be starting for many clubs, but was stuck behind John Unitas in Baltimore. Ultimately, he was beaten out by Kilmer in New Orleans, Joe Kapp in Minnesota, and Jim Hart in St. Louis.

1984: Traded 1st round 1984 pick to NYJ in exchange for QB Richard Todd. It's a bad trade, I know. However, the Jets picked Ron Farout, a DL from Arkansas. He may have lasted about as long in NY as Todd did in NO.

1984: Traded 1st round pick in 1985 to Houston Oilers in exchange for RB Earl Campbell. Campbell was finished, but the Oilers drafted a guy who contributed very little as well (Richard Johnson, CB, Wisconsin).

1982: Traded QB Archie Manning to Houston Oilers in exchange for OL Leon Gray. Archie deserved better ... Leon Gray lasted 2 seasons, and I don't think he was even a starter.

1999: Saints traded a 2nd round draft pick to St. Louis Rams for WR Eddie Kennison. Kennison lasted 1 year with the Saints before being traded to Chicago. The Rams picked CB Dre Bly w/the pick.


MOST MEANINGLESS TRADE
1988: Saints traded DL Shawn Knight to Denver in exchange for NT Ted Gregory ... if you're old enough to remember this one, you'll understand why ... I do give Jim Finks credit for getting rid of Knight after 1 season. Many 1st round flops stay on rosters for years because teams won't admit they have made a mistake.

 

[1badsailor]

are you gary cuozzo?

 

[jboss]

You forgot Ricky Williams. We basically gave away two years of potential talent for a headcase who didn't pan out to say the least. He had the potential to be the next "once in a generation" back, but I think everyone knows how that turned out.

 

[nolafan33]

What about Sullivan for Johnson?

 

[Cuozzo67]

are you gary cuozzo?

Nope, just remember him from the Saints 1st season ... great passer, but Kilmer was a terrific leader and deserved to win the job.

 

[CajunSaint]

You forgot Ricky Williams. We basically gave away two years of potential talent for a headcase who didn't pan out to say the least. He had the potential to be the next "once in a generation" back, but I think everyone knows how that turned out.

While the initial trade for Williams was an absolute disaster that set the franchise back a few years, the trade for Williams to Miami, IMO, was absolutely wonderful trade.

THe unfortunate thing is, we kinda squandered away the fruits of that trade. However, credit for the trade itself.

We got 2 first rounders for him which landed us Charles Grant(I think...it couldve been for Stallworth). ANd then of course, the infamous trade 2 1st rounders for Sully. YIKES.

 

[Old Paint]

There should only be one trade under Worst

You know what I'm talking about....

 

[nolafan33]

There should only be one trade under Worst

You know what I'm talking about....

We all know.

What were the Saints thinking trading up and passing up the almight Rashad Jennings for Thomas Morstead?

 

[andrew76021]

Jonathon "Give me some more nachos" Sullivan. Nothing else is close in my opinion. Ricky Williams at least was a productive player and had value when traded. Sullivan was worthless from day one and cost us 2 first rounders.

 

[Rickey57lives]

Best trade is trading Pat Swilling for the eighth overall pick that was Willie Roaf and a 4th rounder that was Lo Neal.

 

[4saintspirit]

Was Joe Horn acquired through a trade or was he a FA

And what about Wille Roaf to KC -- dont know who we got but it wasnt enough

 

[Cuozzo67]

Best trade is trading Pat Swilling for the eighth overall pick that was Willie Roaf and a 4th rounder that was Lo Neal.

Don't know if it's the best, but definitely should be on the list. Thanks.

 

[Saintman2884]

The Ricky Williams Draft was an epic blunder for the Saints, but in terms of a trade I wish we never made was the Walsh trade with Dallas in 1990. Hebert wasn't Joe Montana by any means, but he was the QB the whole team rallied around as its leader and a man who was an all-around tough QB even though he suffered a few nagging injuries in his time here. I can only blame the Saints and Jim Finks too perhaps for being stubborn and in trying to play it cheap and thumb their noses at Hebert who was sitting out all season long, they go to a washed up journeyman QB in John Fourcade, a QB who could have been a Pro Bowl type if he had only watched what he said and didn't get a reputation for being a hot head who spouted off too much. He had always had that problem, going back to his Ole Miss days, ex-coach Johnnie Vaught once commented a few times that if he was still at Ole Miss calling the shots, Fourcade would have never been the guy calling the snaps for the team. His reputation always had a bad habit of preceding him and it doomed his NFL career in many ways before it could get off the ground.

I will never understand that trade because we mortgaged our future on a deal that was taking a huge risk in an unproven but still well-regarded QB with Steve Walsh. The Cowboys knew who the better QB was with in Troy Aikman as far as who could give them the best chance to win, but in a way to sucker us out of some high draft picks, they create a QB controversy and we buy into it not knowing what we we're really getting in return. Jim Finks knew that the trade was probably one sided and he knew that it was a high-risk high reward type of deal, but in a sense he had no choice nevertheless. Mora needed a QB and since Hebert wasn't playing ball because he felt he was being low balled by the FO, it hurt our momentum as a result.

 

[Nevimeister]

Best Trade:

2008 - Jonathan Vilma for a 3rd round pick in 2009 NFL draft

Vilma is the best linebacker this defense has had in a generation. We have spent 2nd/3rd rounders on the likes of Cie Grant, James Allen, Courtney Watson, Alfred Fincher. Bargain

 

[Cuozzo67]

Best Trade:

2008 - Jonathan Vilma for a 3rd round pick in 2009 NFL draft

Vilma is the best linebacker this defense has had in a generation. We have spent 2nd/3rd rounders on the likes of Cie Grant, James Allen, Courtney Watson, Alfred Fincher. Bargain

Another of the best trades ... and bad 2nd and 3rd round LB picks.