The Green Bay Packers made their own awful trade for a quarterback who was past his peak, about 50 years before the Denver Broncos made the dreadful trade for quarterback Russell Wilson.
GREEN BAY, Wisconsin: Russell Wilson, the quarterback who won the Super Bowl, was purchased by the Denver Broncos from the Seattle Seahawks on March 16, 2022. Wilson was cut by the Broncos on Monday, less than two years later.
Wilson was expected to be the lone quarterback on a club that had drifted down the quarterbacking abyss with players like Teddy Bridgewater, Drew Lock, Trevor Siemian, Case Keenum, and Joe Flacco following Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl victory in 2015.
Rather, the Broncos are lacking numerous components.
From heaven’s perspective, Bart Starr comprehends.
The cost to get Wilson was high; in addition to quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, and first-, second-, and fifth-round picks in 2022, Denver also sent first- and second-round picks in 2023.
As if that weren’t enough, Wilson was awarded a $254 million five-year contract by Denver.
Denver finished 8-9 the previous season and 5-12 in 2022. The Broncos not only failed to win games, but they also paid Wilson $124 million, and a $85 million dead-money charge will stick to their salary cap. That exceeds the previous biggest contractual hangovers, Matt Ryan ($40.5 million) and Aaron Rodgers ($40.3 million), combined in dead-cap charges.
The Glory Years were beginning to fade into the past in 1974. Under Dan Devine’s coaching, it was Year 4. In 1972, he guided the Packers to the postseason with a 10-4 record; but, in 1973, they only managed a 5-7-2 record. They had a 3-2 start in 1974 and lost 10-9 on Monday Night Football at the Chicago Bears. Jerry Tagge completed 14 of 32 passes for 140 yards with two interceptions.
Devine was in a desperate search for a quarterback to complement the elite backfield duo of MacArthur Lane and John Brockington, as well as a strong defense that finished fifth in points allowed. Thus, after a deal with the Saints for Archie Manning fell through, Devine traded for Rams quarterback John Hadl without consulting the Executive Committee.
The trade package included first-, second-, and third-round picks in 1975 as well as first- and second-round picks in 1976, matching the terms of the Wilson transaction.
Hadl had recently finished a season as an All-Pro. In addition, he was coming off the bench after being benched in a 17-6 loss to the Devine’s Packers of all teams. During that game, he completed 6-of-16 throws for 59 yards and two interceptions, enough for a 9.1 passer rating.
According to Packers.com, Hadl, who passed away in2022, stated, “I didn’t really believe it.” “I didn’t anticipate that anyone would be that frantic.”
“It was one of those things where you couldn’t believe anybody would do that,” Hall of Famer Ron Wolf, who was general manager of the Raiders at the time, told The Racine Journal-Times.
With a 6-5 record and three wins in his first three games against the Bears, Vikings, and Chargers, Hadl vaulted the Packers into the postseason. They scored 23 points in their final three games, but they lost them all.
After the season, Devine resigned to take a coaching position at Notre Dame. Stuck with Hadl and crippled without the first- and second-round selection picks, the Packers hired Starr. The Packers finished 4-10 in 1975, despite Hadl starting 13 games and throwing six touchdown passes to 21 interceptions.
Quarterback Starr was a legendary player. The coach Starr wasn’t. The awful Hadl deal created a talent void for the Packers, who finished 4-10 in 1975, 5-9 in 1976, and 4-10 in 1977 before turning things around to win 8-7-1 in 1978.
In his first year as the team’s public relations director, the late Lee Remmel said, “It was the worst trade in Packers history, without a doubt, and one of the worst in pro football history.” We lost two No. 1 picks, two No. 2 picks, and a No. 3 pick in that transaction. Bart Starr, his successor, found it difficult to rebuild the football club in the absence of those first-round picks.
