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The Worst Trade For Every NFL Team In History

By Erik Lambert

31 Dec 1995: Quarterback Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers avoid pressure during a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers won the game 37-20. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport
31 Dec 1995: Quarterback Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers avoid pressure during a game against the Atlanta Falcons at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers won the game 37-20. Mandatory Credit: Jed Jacobsohn /Allsport /
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Los Angeles Chargers

DE. San Diego Chargers. Fred Dean . 17. player. 13.

The 1981 San Diego Chargers were arguably the best team in franchise history. That includes the 1994 Super Bowl team and the 1961 AFL champions. They were loaded with talent, especially on the offensive side and could score at will with Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, Wes Chandler, James Brooks, and Chuck Muncy.

In the end, it wasn’t their opponents but mother nature that got in the way, having to play in the coldest game in NFL history in the AFC championship one week after playing one of the hottest in Miami. Well, that and the fact they had no defense. The Chargers had the worst pass defense in the NFL that season, and it was spurred by their catastrophic decision to trade Fred Dean.

By that point, the defensive end was one of the best in football. A dominant pass rusher with freakish gifts, he’d made All-Pro the year before and was the focal point of their defense. However, he became embroiled in a contract dispute with ownership. Rather than pay up, the Chargers chose to simply deal the problem away instead.

Dean went to San Francisco where he made All-Pro again and helped the 49ers win the Super Bowl. San Diego got the option to swap 1st round picks in 1983 and an additional 2nd round pick. They ended up with Bill Ray Smith Jr. and Mike Wilcher.

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