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Fansided

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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11 Oct 1992: Wide receiver Jeff Graham of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks to catch the ball during a game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns won the game, 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport
11 Oct 1992: Wide receiver Jeff Graham of the Pittsburgh Steelers looks to catch the ball during a game against the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. The Browns won the game, 17-9. Mandatory Credit: Rick Stewart /Allsport /

Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers. Jeff Graham . 27. player. 55. . WR

One of the reasons the Pittsburgh Steelers have been successful for so many years is they’ve been run by good management. They don’t make bad trades. Or at least not bad ones that are so big they could be catastrophic. Still, even they’ve had their bad moments. One of them came in the 1990s when they sent wide receiver Jeff Graham to Chicago for a 5th round pick.

He’d had a couple decent years in 1992 and 1993 but they felt they had enough at the position to not wait any longer for the 2nd round pick to emerge. So they cut their losses. They should’ve been more patient. Graham had a career-best 944 yards his first year with the Bears and then exploded for 1,301 in 1995.

Why is this significant? That was the same year the Steelers made it to the Super Bowl. In that game, Neil O’Donnell couldn’t get enough going through the air with 239 yards, a touchdown and three costly interceptions. It’s fair to wonder how different it might’ve been had Graham been on the field with that trademark speed.

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