The Most Impactful NFL Trades Teams Have Made Since 2010
By Erik Lambert
March 9th will be the start of the new league year. Usually that’s the time for free agency to take over, but lately? It’s been all about big NFL trades.
More than ever it seems like teams are comfortable making big deals for players than in the past and it’s created some fascinated butterfly effects around the league. Just since the 2010 season there have been a number of exchanges that altered the course of teams, divisions and even conferences. What were some of the most impactful? Here are a few that continue to stand out.
San Francisco 49ers trade Alex Smith to Kansas City Chiefs
The logic behind the trade was obvious at the time. San Francisco had Colin Kaepernick who was just coming off a Super Bowl appearance. He was younger, more athletic and had a stronger arm than Smith. On paper it was a no brainer when the Chiefs offered a 2nd round pick and a condition pick the next year that became another 2nd rounder. They couldn’t have imagined at the time that they might actually get the worse of that deal. Once again though they underestimated the resolve of Smith.
They ended up with a series of picks that haven’t amounted to much. Tank Carradine and Chris Borland were failures. All they have is Carlos Hyde who has become a productive running back. Smith though has reached two Pro Bowls and made three postseason appearances in the four seasons after the 49ers traded him. San Francisco got zero Pro Bowls and one playoff appearance out of Kaepernick across that same time span.