What was the worst Bills’ trade of all time?

[Steve O]

8 hours ago, bigK14094 said:

Way back in the 60's, the trade of Dayrll Lamonica to the Raiders for tom Flores

Years later, when the USFL was folding and Kelly was coming to the NFL, there was talk of Oakland being a place he would like to play. Al Davis said it would never happen because "Ralph Wilson still hasn't forgiven me for Daryl Lamonica"

 

8 hours ago, NewEra said:

Trading up for TJ GRAHAM was painful too.  Was convinced we were taking Russell Wilson.  I was tapping my buddy on the shoulder for a minute saying “we traded up for Wilson!!  We traded up for Wilson!!!!” Then did 3-6 Ric Flair “WOOOOOOO’s”......:then screamed TJ FING GRAHAM?!?!?!??!!  WTF!!!!!!!!!

 

so typical 

Part of a draft special showed the Seattle war room before that the Russell Wilson pick. It showed Buffalo trading up and everyone in the Seattle war room was convinced they had lost out on Wilson because it was common knowledge the Bills liked him. Painful to watch even years after the pick.

[BuffaloRush]

4 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

 

I recall that Lynch was overweight and sluggish and really didn’t want to be here.

 

He was just as overweight and sluggish went he had that monster playoff run for Seattle.  Even so the bottom like - the Bill got a poor deal and Buddy was a terrible GM

2 minutes ago, Steve O said:

Years later, when the USFL was folding and Kelly was coming to the NFL, there was talk of Oakland being a place he would like to play. Al Davis said it would never happen because "Ralph Wilson still hasn't forgiven me for Daryl Lamonica"

 

Part of a draft special showed the Seattle war room before that the Russell Wilson pick. It showed Buffalo trading up and everyone in the Seattle war room was convinced they had lost out on Wilson because it was common knowledge the Bills liked him. Painful to watch even years after the pick.

Ironic how the incompetence of Buddy Nix essentially made way for the resurgence of Seattle

[Sky Diver]

2 minutes ago, BuffaloRush said:

 

He was just as overweight and sluggish went he had that monster playoff run for Seattle.  Even so the bottom like - the Bill got a poor deal and Buddy was a terrible GM

Ironic how the incompetence of Buddy Nix essentially made way for the resurgence of Seattle

 

He really wasn’t playing well here.

11 minutes ago, joesixpack said:

 

His 70% winning percentage is a gift of the all time best bills defense. But carry on your crusade for the midget.

 

Not sure what happened to the best Bills defense when RJ played because the Bills winning percentage dropped to 34.5%.

[SoTier]

8 hours ago, KD in CA said:

 

Oh yeah, forgot that.  People love to bash him but I always thought Schaub was a decent QB.  Better than anyone who's played for the Bills in many years.

 

Certainly better than Losman.  If you're going to end up with a modestly successful QB (Matt Schaub or Tyrod Taylor), better to take him in the third or sixth round than in the first round, especially if you trade up to get him.

 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

5 minutes ago, Sky Diver said:

 

Not sure what happened to the best Bills defense when RJ played because the Bills winning percentage dropped to 34.5%.

 

After 1999, it was essentially dismantled. But you knew that already.

 

Just doesn't fit your ridiculous narrative.

 

[Helpmenow]

Trading the mad bomber

[Sky Diver]

2 minutes ago, joesixpack said:

 

After 1999, it was essentially dismantled. But you knew that already.

 

Just doesn't fit your ridiculous narrative.

 

 

In 2000, when the D was “dismantled” the Bills were 4 - 1 under Flutie and 4 - 7 under Johnson.

[jtothebrown]

Imo, the worst trade we made is the one where we trade both of this years first, plus a second, possible both 2nd round pix just to move up to 6 this year for a qb who probably wont even start this year!

[BuffaloRush]

4 hours ago, Sky Diver said:

 

He really wasn’t playing well here.

 

Not sure what happened to the best Bills defense when RJ played because the Bills winning percentage dropped to 34.5%.

 

Wasn’t playing well? He has two full seasons as a Bill, eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark both years (on a very bad offense) and was named to the 2008 Pro Bowl.  Was he as mature or engaged as our coaches wanted him to be?  Probably not.  But facts are facts.  The return the Bills got for Lynch was minimal and that falls on the shoulders of Buddy Nixon. Bad deal 

 

[BringBackOrton]

9 hours ago, cba fan said:

Thank you for remembering.

 

Using the fallacy of those saying Bills spent 3 first rounders for Sam Watkins as my motivation. People keep wanting to say Bills wasted a first round pick on EJ when in reality he was less than a 1st round pick because they traded back and received more picks for doing that resulting in Eric Wood. 

And the Pack was mad they did not get wind of this also.

?

[Buffalo Barbarian]

13 hours ago, The 9 Isles said:

Trading away Marshon Lynch

trading away Jason Peters

Trading up For TJ Graham (instead of Russell Wilson)

Trading up for JP Losman

 

Trading back for EJ, getting kiko was nice but EJ set us back 5 years.

 

 

[reddogblitz]

9 hours ago, cba fan said:

People keep wanting to say Bills wasted a first round pick on EJ when in reality he was less than a 1st round pick because they traded back and received more picks for doing that resulting in Eric Wood. 

 

Actually we got Robert Woods with the pick.

[cba fan]

6 hours ago, jmc12290 said:

?

If Bills had just used a first round pick for EJ then Bills would have spent ONE 1st round pick to get EJ and would only have EJ.

 

Instead they traded back by giving up ONE Bills 1st round pick in exchange for ONE 1st round pick later in round 1, ONE pick in 2nd round, ONE pick in 7th round.

 

They then picked EJ with the later pick in 1st, center Eric Wood in 2nd, TE Gragg in 7th.

 

This means EJ did not cost Bills a first round pick because they received a 2nd and a 7th for trading back. Meaning he cost less than a 1st round pick.(as an added bonus his contract was significantly reduced due to being picked later in round)(in fact that savings likely paid for most/all of Eric Woods deal)

 

If they stayed with original pick they would only have had EJ to show for that pick.

Since they traded back they had EJ, E Wood, and Gragg, to show for that 1st round pick.

 

I know it is semantics and hard to wrap our head around but in reality by trading back and acquiring more players EJ cost less than a single first round pick. Both on draft capital and player salaries.

 

Update: my error. Kiko Alonso was the pick not Eric Wood.

Edited April 23, 2018 by cba fan

[BringBackOrton]

40 minutes ago, cba fan said:

If Bills had just used a first round pick for EJ then Bills would have spent ONE 1st round pick to get EJ and would only have EJ.

 

Instead they traded back by giving up ONE Bills 1st round pick in exchange for ONE 1st round pick later in round 1, ONE pick in 2nd round, ONE pick in 7th round.

 

They then picked EJ with the later pick in 1st, center Eric Wood in 2nd, TE Gragg in 7th.

 

This means EJ did not cost Bills a first round pick because they received a 2nd and a 7th for trading back. Meaning he cost less than a 1st round pick.(as an added bonus his contract was significantly reduced due to being picked later in round)(in fact that savings likely paid for most/all of Eric Woods deal)

 

If they stayed with original pick they would only have had EJ to show for that pick.

Since they traded back they had EJ, E Wood, and Gragg, to show for that 1st round pick.

 

I know it is semantics and hard to wrap our head around but in reality by trading back and acquiring more players EJ cost less than a single first round pick. Both on draft capital and player salaries.

 

 

Eric Wood was drafted in 2009, EJ was drafted in 2013.

 

EJ did not cost "less than a first."  He cost pick #16, the pick we used to select him.  Pick #8 was traded for pick #16 and a second rounder.  EJ cost less than pick 8.  He cost pick 16.

[Special K]

18 minutes ago, jmc12290 said:

Eric Wood was drafted in 2009, EJ was drafted in 2013.

 

 

Eric Wood was the player picked with the first round pick the Bills got from the Eagles in the Jason Peters trade.

[DriveFor1Outta5]

#Starship14

[The Avenger]

The whole 2006 draft was a disaster of trades....

 

Gave up 2nd (#42) AND 3rd (72) for John McCargo, and had previously traded Travis Henry for a third (#70) for Aston Youboty - yeesh........

[The Wiz]

Robert woods was drafted with the bills original 2nd and Kiko was drafted with the 2nd they got from the Rams.

[BillsfaninChicago]

8 hours ago, nucci said:

was going to say Lamonica trade...it has to be the worst one ever

I keep seeing this one come up in the thread. For someone like myself who waas not yet born, what was the story behind this? Insee on his Wikipedia page that he had a great career after the trade and also lit us up for 6 TDs in one half when we played him. What was the reasoning behind it and who made the decision to trade him?

[Epstein's Mother]

For me it's absolutely the trade up into the first round for John McCargo.  That guy did less than nothing.  32 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 5 years.

[Fadingpain]

The trade up to get Sammy is horrible.  Maybe not franchise worst, but really bad.

 

One of the best? The 3-way to get Biscuit.

 

 

[cba fan]

5 hours ago, cba fan said:

If Bills had just used a first round pick for EJ then Bills would have spent ONE 1st round pick to get EJ and would only have EJ.

 

Instead they traded back by giving up ONE Bills 1st round pick in exchange for ONE 1st round pick later in round 1, ONE pick in 2nd round, ONE pick in 7th round.

 

They then picked EJ with the later pick in 1st, Kiko Alonso in 2nd, TE Gragg in 7th.

 

This means EJ did not cost Bills a first round pick because they received a 2nd and a 7th for trading back. Meaning he cost less than a 1st round pick.(as an added bonus his contract was significantly reduced due to being picked later in round)(in fact that savings likely paid for most/all of Kiko Alonso deal)

 

If they stayed with original pick they would only have had EJ to show for that pick.

Since they traded back they had EJ, Kiko Alonso, and Gragg, to show for that 1st round pick.

 

I know it is semantics and hard to wrap our head around but in reality by trading back and acquiring more players EJ cost less than a single first round pick. Both on draft capital and player salaries.

 

 

sorry fixed the woods mistake. It was Kiko Alonso not Eric Wood.

5 hours ago, jmc12290 said:

EJ did not cost "less than a first."  He cost pick #16, the pick we used to select him.  Pick #8 was traded for pick #16 and a second rounder.  EJ cost less than pick 8.  He cost pick 16.

He cost less than a 1st because they got EJ, Kiko Alonso, and Gragg, for their 1st round pick.

 

If they did not do the trade they would have just had EJ. So EJ effectively cost less than a 1st as Bills multiplied its value by the trade returns.

Edited April 23, 2018 by cba fan

[BillsfaninChicago]

3 hours ago, The Wiz said:

Robert woods was drafted with the bills original 2nd and Kiko was drafted with the 2nd they got from the Rams.

Which in turn got us Shady so not too shabby.

[The Jokeman]

20 hours ago, Sky Diver said:

When we traded for Johnson we already had Flutie on the roster.

And Flutie was just an old guy who had very little NFL success at that point and not overly liked by some because of Jim McMahon hated him and others had issues that he crossed the NFL picket line to play during the strike.

[nucci]

3 hours ago, Leonhart2017 said:

I keep seeing this one come up in the thread. For someone like myself who waas not yet born, what was the story behind this? Insee on his Wikipedia page that he had a great career after the trade and also lit us up for 6 TDs in one half when we played him. What was the reasoning behind it and who made the decision to trade him?

Lamonica was a very good QB behind Kemp....at times played better than Kemp.......He was traded while he was on his way up and Kemps' best days behind him. Kemp was a folk hero here because of the 2 AFL Championships but fans loved Lamonica as well....my mother and sister did......to this day we don't know why the trade happened but Ralph was in charge so he had to authorize it...Bills didn't recover until Saban returned in '72

[BillsfaninChicago]

26 minutes ago, nucci said:

Lamonica was a very good QB behind Kemp....at times played better than Kemp.......He was traded while he was on his way up and Kemps' best days behind him. Kemp was a folk hero here because of the 2 AFL Championships but fans loved Lamonica as well....my mother and sister did......to this day we don't know why the trade happened but Ralph was in charge so he had to authorize it...Bills didn't recover until Saban returned in '72

Thanks for insight into that it sounds like history would have been different had they not made thst trade. Also it does like the same emotion to the fan base happend then as when Ralph fired Polian in the early 90’s

[Yoho]

12 minutes ago, Leonhart2017 said:

Thanks for insight into that it sounds like history would have been different had they not made thst trade. Also it does like the same emotion to the fan base happend then as when Ralph fired Polian in the early 90’s

There were always some great rumors that Lamonica was fooling around with Ralph Wilson's wife and he insisted on the trade.  The whole trade was Darryl Lamonica and Bill Miller for Tom Flores and Art Powell.  Powell was one of the great receiver of the early AFL but was done when the Bills got him.  Lamonica used to come in on frequent occasions to spell Kemp and win games.  Bill Miller caught two touchdown passes in Super Bowl II just to add insult to injury.  In 1967 Flores completed 34.4% of his passes for Buffalo.  That trade changed the Bills from a contender to a bottom dweller in a heartbeat. 

Edited April 23, 2018 by Yoho

[njbuff]

Getting Chris Watson.

[BillsfaninChicago]

19 minutes ago, Yoho said:

There were always some great rumors that Lamonica was fooling around with Ralph Wilson's wife and he insisted on the trade.  The whole trade was Darryl Lamonica and Bill Miller for Tom Flores and Art Powell.  Powell was one of the great receiver of the early AFL but was done when the Bills got him.  Lamonica used to come in on frequent occasions to spell Kemp and win games.  Bill Miller caught two touchdown passes in Super Bowl II just to add insult to injury.  In 1967 Flores completed 34.4% of his passes for Buffalo.  That trade changed the Bills from a contender to a bottom dweller in a heartbeat. 

That is really facsinating to me how a franchise can become something, good,bad or both, on one move. Hypothetically had we not made that trade we would not have been bad enough to draft OJ which eventually we traded to get Tom Cousinaeu in the draft which we then traded for the pick that got us Kelly. Just kind of crazy how one move can take you in a different direction for decades.

Edited April 23, 2018 by Leonhart2017

[Yoho]

4 minutes ago, Leonhart2017 said:

That is really facsinating to me how a franchise can become something, good,bad or both, on one move. Hypothetically had we not made that trade we would not have been bad enough to draft OJ which eventually we traded to get Tom Cousinaeu in the draft which we then traded for the pick that got us Kelly. Just kind of crazy how one move can take you in a different direction for decades.

Excellent point.  Another moment was Thanksgiving Day 1968, when the Bills were playing their 6th quarterback for the year, Ed Rutkowski, who was not a QB.   For some bizarre reason, the Bills who ended the season 1 -15 took the Oakland Raider to a close game in the 4th quarter.  The Bills had the ball at the goal line and a touchdown wins the game.  Rutkowski who had played some running back ran a keeper that looked like the game winning touchdown but he was hit and fumbled before crossing the goal line.  The Raiders recovered, the Bills lost and we got the number one pick in the draft OJ Simpson.  The consensus number 2 pick was LeRoy Keyes, a running back out of Purdue and a total bust who the Eagles picked.   One play, one game, one trade can turn the whole franchise around in ways you can never predict

[BringBackOrton]

1 hour ago, cba fan said:

sorry fixed the woods mistake. It was Kiko Alonso not Eric Wood.

He cost less than a 1st because they got EJ, Kiko Alonso, and Gragg, for their 1st round pick.

 

If they did not do the trade they would have just had EJ. So EJ effectively cost less than a 1st as Bills multiplied its value by the trade returns.

They actually only got 1 player with their first round selection in 2013.  EJ.  With pick #16.

[BillsfaninChicago]

4 minutes ago, Yoho said:

Excellent point.  Another moment was Thanksgiving Day 1968, when the Bills were playing their 6th quarterback for the year, Ed Rutkowski, who was not a QB.   For some bizarre reason, the Bills who ended the season 1 -15 took the Oakland Raider to a close game in the 4th quarter.  The Bills had the ball at the goal line and a touchdown wins the game.  Rutkowski who had played some running back ran a keeper that looked like the game winning touchdown but he was hit and fumbled before crossing the goal line.  The Raiders recovered, the Bills lost and we got the number one pick in the draft OJ Simpson.  The consensus number 2 pick was LeRoy Keyes, a running back out of Purdue and a total bust who the Eagles picked.   One play, one game, one trade can turn the whole franchise around in ways you can never predict

I never heard that either, wow it is seriously not only a game of inches but beyond football a life of inches. I hate to bring it up but you do wonder how different everyone’s life would have been (talking about OJ’s post NFL stuff) if Rutkowski (sp) had crossed the goal line. 

[Yoho]

6 minutes ago, Leonhart2017 said:

I never heard that either, wow it is seriously not only a game of inches but beyond football a life of inches. I hate to bring it up but you do wonder how different everyone’s life would have been (talking about OJ’s post NFL stuff) if Rutkowski (sp) had crossed the goal line. 

I remember when Juice was with his first wife, Marguirete, he was fooling around with one of my wife's friends from high school (after high school).  I am not sure if living in Philly would have made much difference.   Different groupies, same problems.  

[BillsfaninChicago]

5 minutes ago, Yoho said:

I remember when Juice was with his first wife, Marguirete, he was fooling around with one of my wife's friends from high school (after high school).  I am not sure if living in Philly would have made much difference.   Different groupies, same problems.  

Yeah very good point and man OJ got around and considering his choices in life he probably would have ended in a similar spot.

[boyst]

2004 we did nothing to get ben Roethlisberger. Worst trade never made.  I would have bet the farm on him. 

[BillsfaninChicago]

17 minutes ago, jmc12290 said:

They actually only got 1 player with their first round selection in 2013.  EJ.  With pick #16.

That is right, I think is thinking of the Jason Peters trade which did get us the pick that got us Wood in 2009.

[cba fan]

1 hour ago, jmc12290 said:

They actually only got 1 player with their first round selection in 2013.  EJ.  With pick #16.

I know I am out there with this thinking and I understand if you or anyone else think I am bat **** crazy but stay with me for a sec.

 

They got EJ, Kiko, and Gragg, for Bills original first round draft pick that year, #8 1st round.

 

So EJ did not cost a 1st round pick as they got 3 players instead of one. For Bills original 8th pick they got EJ, Kiko, and Gragg.

Edited April 23, 2018 by cba fan

[Tcali]

19 hours ago, reddogblitz said:

 

Actually we traded down for EJ and took Woods with the pick we got in the trade down.

yeah details details;)...main thing is we made a historically horrible move getting EJ 

[reddogblitz]

14 minutes ago, Tcali said:

yeah details details;)...main thing is we made a historically horrible move getting EJ 

 

Didn't work out, but you miss all the ones you don't e swing at, right?

[BringBackOrton]

47 minutes ago, cba fan said:

I know I am out there with this thinking and I understand if you or anyone else think I am bat **** crazy but stay with me for a sec.

 

They got EJ, Kiko, and Gragg, for Bills original first round draft pick that year, #8 1st round.

 

So EJ did not cost a 1st round pick as they got 3 players instead of one. For Bills original 8th pick they got EJ, Kiko, and Gragg.

This is true.

 

So EJ did not cost a 1st round pick

 

This is not.  It would be more accurate to say that EJ didn't cost pick #8.  But he definitely cost pick #16.  Which is in the first round.  Ergo, he cost a first round pick.