No matter what team you're talking about or who their general manager is, there is bound to be a list of horrible trade decisions made throughout the years. Unfortunately, that includes Bill Belichick with the Patriots.
The head coach has earned a reputation for seeing value in players that others don't see. But that also comes with taking advantage of said value and moving on from them before it's too late.
Although not all of those decisions have come back to haunt the Patriots, some of the more noteworthy ones have, especially in recent years.
Belichick has signed off on at least five questionable trades that have had some sort of impact on the team (even today) that could easily be referred to as the worst trades during his era in New England.
Mohamed Sanu to the Patriots for a second-round pick in 2019
In what would be Tom Brady's final season suiting up with New England, the Patriots started the season with what could have been one of the best receiving corps they had in years.
It was led by Brady's go-to guy Julian Edelman and followed by the unlikely addition of Antonio Brown after his release from the Raiders. Add in Josh Gordon, Jakobi Meyers, and the Patriots' offense seemed well put together for the season ahead.
Unfortunately, though, that didn't last long.
Because more allegations were made involving Brown, he was released from the team after just one game. And Gordon was invisible in all but one of the six games he played before being placed on injured reserve and being waived in late October.
That left Brady with 33-year-old Edelman, inconsistent Phillip Dorsett, and rookies N'Keal Harry and Meyers to carry the offensive load.
Since it was assumed that Brady was near the end of his career and winning was even more critical, Belichick made a trade shortly before the deadline for Atlanta Falcons receiver Mohamed Sanu, trading a 2020 second-round for the 30-year-old.
It wasn't the move most hoped for, as Sanu had been a decent player but never got past playing behind Julio Jones, making it feel like a high price tag for a receiver of his caliber.
His performance through the eight games he took the field for only validated that initial assertion.
During the half-season he spent in New England, Sanu totaled 26/47 receptions for 207 yards and one touchdown; far from the production the offense was needing and the type of weapon Brady was hoping for.
At the end of the season, he remained with the Patriots during training camp because he was still under contract through the 2020 season. But after being placed on the PUP list and not becoming what the offense needed, he was released a week before the start of the regular season.
Sanu's short stint in New England is one of Belichick's more memorable trade mistakes during his career. Not just because of the price to acquire him but also because he wasn't the game-changing player they needed then, making it make even less sense overall.
Chandler Jones to the Arizona Cardinals in 2016
A move that is still paining the Patriots now, nearly seven years later, has to be when Chandler Jones was shockingly traded to the Arizona Cardinals in 2016.
As a mainstay of the defense, since he was drafted in 2012, Jones quickly skyrocketed to the top of the league as one of the best pass rushers in the game. In his first three seasons, he racked up 23.5 sacks, 46 quarterback hits, six forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries, with one ending in a touchdown.
Then came the 2015 season when he earned his first Pro Bowl honors.
It would be his best season in New England, recording 44 combined tackles, 18 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles, and 12.5 sacks. His presence on the field made all the difference for a Patriots team amid another dominating leg of their dynasty, making it all the more shocking he was traded in the following offseason.
Given the unexpected nature of the trade, most assumed it was a cost-saving move by Belichick, who had historically let players walk or traded them when he felt they were most valuable and could provide the biggest return.
But Jones wasn't due much money in 2016.
It was the last year of his rookie contract, and he was set to be paid $7.79 million. So why move on from a guy developing into a pillar of a stellar defense?
Apparently, it's the tale as old as time with the Patriots. According to speculation, Belichick had no intention of paying Jones once his contract was up. Because his production warranted a hefty payday after the 2016 season, the head coach moved him when he could for the most profitable return.
Additionally, Jamie Collins and Dont'a Hightower were also playing on the last year of their contracts, and they were considered priorities over the young defensive end. In Belichick's opinion, both players were more valuable to the team than Jones; therefore, he should be moved as opposed to either of them.
Fortunately for the Patriots, their defense didn't become a total dude after Jones was traded. However, they did struggle to find a consistently dominant pass rusher until signing Matthew Judon in 2021.
And it wasn't the most fun to watch Jones thrive elsewhere, earning three more Pro Bowl honors, leading the league in sacks with 17 in 2017, and of course, being the biggest contributor to the heartbreaking loss to the Raiders last season.
Brandin Cooks to the Los Angeles Rams in 2018
We're heading into the 2023 season, and the Patriots are still looking for their clear-cut WR1, yet Belichick thought it was a great idea to trade a perfectly good one away in 2018.
When they first acquired Brandin Cooks via trade with the Saints in 2017, it seemed like a fair deal for a receiver coming off back-to-back 1,000+ yard seasons. New England gave up their first-round draft pick that year, plus a third-rounder in exchange for Cooks, and received a fourth-round pick in return.
The Patriots needed a talented receiver to replace the loss of Julian Edelman for the season, who went down with a torn ACL in the year's final preseason game. Cooks was more than qualified to be that guy and continued his impressive streak during his one season in Foxboro.
He immediately became one of Brady's go-to guys, totaling 65 receptions for 1,082 yards and seven touchdowns. Both Cooks and Rob Gronkowski finished the season part of the 1k club, the first receiving duo to accomplish that since the 2011 season.
Throughout the season, he continued to impress with his performance and incredible catches that many remember to this day, including the tip-toe touchdown against the Texans. And for the first time in his career, Cooks was part of a team that played in the playoffs and ended the year in the Super Bowl.
Unfortunately, in that championship game against the Eagles, he was ruled out with a concussion early in the second quarter. It was the last time he suited up with the Patriots before he was traded for the second time in his young career.
A few weeks before the draft, Belichick traded Cooks and a 2018 fourth-rounder to the Rams for a first-round pick (that ended up being Isaiah Wynn) and a sixth-round selection.
Other than wanting to get back into the first round of the draft, there was no real indication of why the Patriots traded Cooks after such a successful season. He was exactly what the team needed then and could have benefitted if they kept him, especially since they lost Danny Amendola in free agency.
Plus, the first-round pick they got in return for the trade wound up being a player that is no longer on the team five years later, a player that was consistent and became a liability to the offensive line during his time in New England, which makes this trade even more questionable.
Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco 49ers in 2017
The Jimmy Garoppolo trade in 2017 was a highly debated decision and remains that way almost six years later.
At the time, the Patriots were fresh off their fifth Super Bowl win, led by an iconic comeback by Tom Brady and an explosive offense. It was their second Lombardi in three years, and there didn't appear to be an end in sight to the team's incredible run.
Although there was a belief that Brady was nearing the end of his career, despite how well he was still playing, he was nowhere near hanging up his cleats. In fact, he went on to win another Super Bowl, another league MVP and was selected to another Pro Bowl with the Patriots.
Knowing now how long Brady remained the quarterback, trading Garoppolo doesn't look like such a bad decision in hindsight. But at the same time, when Brady left the team for Tampa Bay just three years later, the Patriots found themselves in a tough position with literally no plan of how to replace him.
At the time, they only had Jarrett Stidham on the roster, who had no shot at becoming the starting quarterback and signed Cam Newton halfway through the summer to take over under center. The following season was unremarkable, putting the Patriots in a position to draft their presumed next franchise quarterback, Mac Jones, in the 2021 draft.
Besides the Garoppolo trade leaving them with no options at quarterback when Brady left, the second-round pick they received in return didn't add much to its value.
Because they ultimately traded the pick they acquired into multiple other picks, they were able to use the several added picks over the next few drafts. It totaled eight selections through the 2020 draft, but only Damien Harris became an integral part of the team.
All of it together makes the trade seem worse and worse. Had the pick turned into a game-changing player, or they were better prepared to handle a Brady-less offense, perhaps trading Garoppolo wouldn't be considered one of the worst under Belichick. But nothing positive really came from the move, making it difficult not to label it a wrong decision.
Michael Bennett to the Patriots for fifth & seventh-round picks in 2019
One of the more under-the-radar trades that most seem to forget about is definitely trading fifth and seventh-round picks for defensive end Michael Bennett in 2019.
After their success from signing his brother three years earlier, adding another Bennett into the mix seemed like a good idea. The Patriots were looking to bolster their front seven, and adding a well-established pass-rusher was a great move at the start of free agency that year.
Once the season began, the team performed well and went 8-1 before getting to their bye week. The defense was on fire, which brought back the Boogeymen nickname from a few years prior and quickly became one of the most dominant defensive units in the league.
But a noticeable missing piece from it all was Bennett.
Things were okay through the first six weeks of the year; although his production on the field was limited, it didn't appear like he was an absolute trade bust at the time. But it all got weird in mid-October when Bennett was suspended one game for "detrimental conduct" due to an argument with one of his coaches.
After his suspension was served, he spoke with the media about his unhappiness with his role on the team. Bennett also alluded to wanting out of New England, which wound up happening.
The following day, he was traded to the Dallas Cowboys for a conditional seventh-round pick.
Bennett only played in six games as a Patriot and didn't contribute much on the field during that time to even make the trade a little bit worth it. Although giving up later-round picks doesn't seem like a waste, not getting much in return does.