The Greatest Trade For Every NFL Team In History
By Erik Lambert
Cincinnati Bengals: The James Brooks trade
The San Diego Chargers felt that running back James Brooks, while a tremendous athlete with loads of versatility, couldn’t handle a significant amount of carries in an offensive attack due to his smaller size. Such is the only explanation that makes sense as to why they willingly traded him to the Cincinnati Bengals in 1984 for fullback Pete Johnson. In fairness Johnson was a Pro Bowler in 1981 and scored 14 touchdowns in 1983, but he was also turning 30-years old. Yet that didn’t seem to deter them, much to the delight of the Bengals.
When they began to implement their revolutionary no-huddle attack under head coach Sam Wyche, Brooks’ speed and agility proved to be a lethal component to its success. He would end up going to four Pro Bowls, produced at least 1,200 yards from scrimmage in five seasons, scored 64 touchdowns and helped Cincinnati to reach the Super Bowl in 1988. Johnson played just three games for the Chargers before he ended up with the Miami Dolphins the remainder of that season. He retired shortly after.
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