The New England Patriots might have six Super Bowls to their name, but they also must own some noteworthy flubs in the trade market.
In both the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady dynasty and some of the more disappointing years under Billy Sullivan Jr. and Victor Kiam, New England has produced some serious duds.
The Patriots have had a few Hall of Famers dropped right into their laps, only to part with them in the middle of the season or on NFL Draft night for a collection of picks that never produced a player as talented.
Likewise, the desire to improve during the regular season while chasing a championship has led to some ill-fated moves, especially right before the trade deadline when upgrades are even more scarce.
These 3 trades will go down in infamy in Patriots history. When the likes of Chad Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth aren’t on this list, that should tell you how inept this team used to be.
3 worst trades in New England Patriots history.
3. Mike Haynes
While Haynes split his 14-year career equally between the Patriots and then-Los Angeles Raiders, he had more games played, interceptions, and Pro Bowl appearances in New England. Despite those accolades, many remember Haynes as a Raider due to one lopsided trade.
Haynes was holding out in search of a bigger contract (shades of Stephon Gilmore, don’t you think?) and earned a trade back to his native Los Angeles. The Patriots earned a first and third-round draft choice, but they missed out on keeping one of the best cornerbacks to ever play this game.
The Patriots should have kept Hall of Fame DB Mike Haynes.
The only reason that this trade wasn’t a complete loss, or higher on this list, was the fact that the choices New England acquired helped them move up to the No. 1 overall pick in the 1984 Draft and select wide receiver Irving Fryar. While Fryar’s best statistical years came in Miami, he had nine very productive seasons in New England.
Still, trading away a future Hall of Famer cornerback in his prime is probably a worse deal for the Patriots. Not only did Haynes get his payday with the Raiders, but he formed arguably the best cornerback tandem ever with Lester Hayes, which directly correlated to a Raiders Super Bowl victory. Not a bad bit of business for Al Davis.
2. Mohamed Sanu
This one is still fresh in the minds of Patriots fans, as they gave away a piece of premium draft capital for Sanu, who was starting to show his age after putting together a substandard half-season of work in Atlanta. Belichick saw this as a perfect time to get Tom Brady some veteran help.
Needless to say, he flopped. Sanu recorded 26 catches for just 207 yards and one touchdown, putting together his worst yards per game average since his days on a rookie contract in Cincinnati. Sanu left the Patriots in the offseason, trash-talking them in the process, while giving Atlanta some solid draft ammunition.
The Mohamed Sanu trade was a bust for the Patriots.
This trade not only helped Atlanta, but it aided an AFC rival in the Ravens. The Falcons traded the pick to Baltimore to acquire tight end Hayden Hurst, and the Ravens used the selection to take running back JK Dobbins. Despite his injury, his rookie year was darn impressive.
Aggression is good, but blind aggression near the deadline can often be very destructive. Sanu has since found work with Detroit and San Francisco, but has just 28 catches in the last two years. Sanu was on the tail end of his career, and Belichick still gave up capital to acquire him.
1. The ill-fated 1985 Draft
This deal doesn’t seem so bad on the surface. The San Francisco 49ers were convinced that the rival Cowboys, who picked 17th overall, were going to select their top prospect, so they traded their first, second, and third-round selections to the Patriots for the No. 16 pick and a third-rounder. Not awful, right?
Well…the guy who the 49ers took with that pick was…Jerry Rice. Yeah.
Listing Rice’s accomplishments is a fruitless exercise, as everyone knows what a legendary, singular talent he was across the history of the NFL. If only the Patriots weren’t so willing to trade down for more picks.
The Patriots blew a chance to draft Jerry Rice.
The Patriots went to the Super Bowl in 1985, and while they were merely hogs to get slaughtered by the Bears and their legendary defense, you don’t think Rice would have made a difference? You don’t get many chances to add the game’s greatest wide receiver, and New England bungled theirs.
And who did the Patriots end up with when it was all said and done? BYU center Trevor Matich, who played 11 years in the NFL but only started 23 games. At the risk of making a very declarative statement, New England should’ve held on to the pick and selected Rice. Just a thought.
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