The Worst Trade For Every NFL Team In History
By Erik Lambert
Tennessee Titans
35. . WR. Houston Oilers. Steve Largent . 31. player
How often do you find Hall of Fame players who were traded before playing a single down for the team that drafted them? It’s a rare case headlined by wide receiver Steve Largent, who was traded by the Houston Oilers, now the Tennessee Titans, in 1976 to the Seattle Seahawks for an eighth round pick.
A star at Tulsa, Largent went to Seattle and earned his first Pro Bowl selection in his third season after racking up over 1,000 yards. It was the first of eight 1,000 yard seasons for Largent, who could have had nine consecutive if not for a players strike in 1982 that cut the season in half.
Largent led the league in receiving yards twice over a 14-year career, all of which were in Seattle after Houston traded him. He’d earn seven Pro Bowls and the 1988 Walter Payton Man of the Year award en route to Canton.
Inducted on the first ballot in 1995, Largent was the NFL’s all-time receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns leader upon induction. He became the first of 10 players to have 100 receiving touchdowns and the first Seahawks to have his number retired.
Regarded as one of the greatest receivers of all-time, Largent was named to the NFL’s 1980’s All-Decade team.
Largent went on to serve in the United States House of Representatives serving for the Oklahoma 1st District for eight years. He lost the Governor race by 6,866 votes, or about .66% of the vote after a third-party candidate took more than 14% of the vote.