5 Worst Trades in NFL History ft. DeAndre Hopkins, Antonio Brown and more

5 Worst NFL Trades of All-Time

#3 - Raiders Acquire Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown with the Oakland Raiders

In what was thought to be a steal at the time, the Oakland Raiders traded away their third- and fifth-round draft selections in the 2019 NFL draft to the Pittsburgh Steelers for seven-time Pro Bowler Antonio Brown.

During his short stint with the Raiders, Brown would miss training camp with frostbiten feet, as well as threaten to retire if he wasn't allowed to wear his old helmet.

Brown would also have multiple unauthorized absences from training camp, and after being fined for not showing up, would get into an altercation with GM Mike Mayock, where Brown apparently called Mayock a "cracker." Brown would be fined $215,000 for this altercation.

Following this tumultuous period, and the Raiders voiding the guaranteed money in Brown's contract, he demanded to be released by the Raiders and was granted his request on September 7, 2019, before even playing a regular season game in Oakland.

#2 - Texans Trade away DeAndre Hopkins

DeAndre Hopkins of the Arizona Cardinals

When you think about the worst trade of recent times, only one comes to mind for most people, and that transaction is the Houston Texans giving away superstar wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and a fourth-round draft pick to the Arizona Cardinals for running back David Johnson and a second- and fourth-round draft pick in March 2020.

Hopkins had five 1,000+ receiving yards with the Texans, establishing himself as one of the league's best wide receivers, while David Johnson has been battling injuries for a large portion of his career, and only putting up 1,000+ rushing yards once, and that was back in 2016.

Most NFL fans were in agreement that the Texans had been robbed, and since the trade that definitely seems to be the case, with Johnson only rushing for 919 total yards in two seasons with the Texans before he was released at the end of the 2021 season. Meanwhile, Hopkins has continued to excel in Arizona, tallying 1,407 yards in his first season with Kyler Murray and still managing eight touchdowns in an injury-hit 2021 season.

#1 - Brett Favre Traded for a First-Round pick

Brett Favre with the Green Bay Packers

Brett Favre was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second-round of the 1991 draft, but would find little success in Georgia. Favre would be the backup quarterback, and Jerry Glanville who was the Falcons' head coach at the time, wasn't a fan of Favre, saying it would take a plane crash to put him in the game.

The Falcons would have been delighted to cut their losses on Favre, when the Green Bay Packers gave up a first-round 1992 NFL draft selection to acquire Favre. However, this trade would prove to be one of the worst in NFL history.

Favre was, of course, a huge success in Green Bay, winning three MVP awards, 11 Pro Bowl selections, and winning Super Bowl XXXI with a win over the New England Patriots.

Favre would start every game for the Packers from 1992-2007, a run that spanned 297 games, an NFL record that still stands today. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Atlanta Falcons would struggle to find a consistent franchise quarterback until they selected Matt Ryan in the 2008 draft, who remained with the Falcons until March 2022.