These are the top 5 Redskins trades ever. The very best trades in franchise history. Washington has executed several brilliant trades that brought in Hall of Fame talent, championship anchors, and elite weapons.
On this Flashback Friday, we snap back to the best deals we have ever made as an organization.
Number 5 – Coles For Moss
On March 9, 2005, Washington and the New York Jets swapped disgruntled receivers, sending Laveranues Coles back to New York in exchange for Santana Moss. Both players wanted out of run-first offenses that limited their production. Coles had made the Pro Bowl in Washington in 2003, catching 82 passes for 1,204 yards while playing through a fractured toe, but never seemed to fully buy into Joe Gibbs‘ offensive scheme. Moss, meanwhile, hadn’t lived up to his first-round pedigree in four years with the Jets.
The trade changed that immediately. Moss exploded in his first season in Washington, catching 84 passes for 1,483 yards, a franchise record, and earning his only career Pro Bowl selection. His signature moment came just two weeks into the season, when he caught two fourth-quarter touchdowns against Dallas to steal a 14-13 win. Moss went on to spend ten seasons in Washington, finishing among the franchise’s all-time leaders in catches, yards, and touchdowns. He caught 581 passes for 7,867 yards and 47 touchdowns with the Redskins. Coles was solid in New York for four more years, and had 289 receptions for 3,439 yards and 24 TDs.
Significant edge to Moss.
Number 4 – Oliphant For Byner
In April 1989, general manager Bobby Beathard pulled off one of the most lopsided trades in NFL history, sending running back Mike Oliphant to Cleveland for Earnest Byner. On paper, the deal looked uneven from the start. Byner was a five-year veteran with more than 5,000 yards from scrimmage, over 200 receptions, and 30-plus touchdowns. Oliphant, a 1988 third-round pick, had gained just 30 rushing yards as a rookie. Cleveland moved on from Byner anyway, still haunted by his infamous fumble in the 1987 AFC Championship Game and looking for more speed in their backfield.
Washington got a bargain. Byner paired with Gerald Riggs in 1989, then broke out in 1990 with 1,219 rushing yards, earning the first of two straight Pro Bowl selections. He spent five productive seasons in Washington, piling up nearly 4,000 rushing yards and catching a touchdown pass in Washington’s Super Bowl XXVI win, finally claiming the ring that had eluded him in Cleveland. Oliphant, meanwhile, spent much of his three years in Cleveland battling hamstring injuries and was out of football entirely by 1991, the same year Byner won it all.
Number 3 – Davis For Mitchell
In 1962, Washington held the No. 1 overall pick and used it, under pressure, on Syracuse’s Ernie Davis, the first Black Heisman Trophy winner. Owner George Preston Marshall had resisted integration for decades and reportedly couldn’t bring himself to make the pick personally, leaving it to GM Bill McPeak. Davis refused to play for Marshall’s team and demanded a trade. Cleveland head coach Paul Brown jumped at the opportunity, sending All-Pro running back Bobby Mitchell and a first-round pick to Washington for Davis’ rights, reportedly without even telling Browns owner Art Modell first. Marshall called Modell that night to gloat. “That’s a helluva trade we just made,” he said. A stunned Modell had no idea what he was talking about.
The trade carries real tragedy. Davis was diagnosed with leukemia later that year and died in May 1963, having never played a single professional down. For Washington, though, the return was immediate and historic. Mitchell scored three touchdowns in his very first game in burgundy and gold, then led the NFL in both receptions and receiving yards that season on his way to a Hall of Fame career. He became the player who finally integrated Washington’s roster, and one of the greatest to ever wear the uniform. Cleveland got a Heisman winner who never suited up. Washington got a legend and Hall-Of-Famer.
Number 2 – Snead For Jurgensen
On March 31, 1964, the Philadelphia Eagles sent quarterback Sonny Jurgensen and defensive back Jimmy Carr to Washington in exchange for quarterback Norm Snead and defensive back Claude Crabb. New Eagles coach and GM Joe Kuharich framed it as a youth movement, swapping the 29-year-old Jurgensen for the 24-year-old Snead, Washington’s own former second overall pick. Jurgensen didn’t hide his disappointment at the time. “I had wanted to finish up here.”
Washington won this deal decisively. Jurgensen made the Pro Bowl and earned Second-team All-Pro honors in his very first season, then went on to a Hall of Fame career, throwing for over 20,000 yards and 179 touchdowns in burgundy and gold. He made sure Philadelphia felt it immediately too, torching his old team for 385 yards and five touchdowns in their first meeting that October. Snead, by contrast, went 28-50-3 across seven winless seasons in Philadelphia.
The defensive backs obviously told a smaller part of the trade values. Carr, already 31 and in the twilight of his career, lasted just two seasons in Washington before retiring. Crabb, a converted college fullback, spent his Eagles years as part of an unspectacular secondary. Certainly not enough to approach Jurgensen’s impact.
Sonny after all, was a record breaker – was in Washington for 50 years – and is one of the most revered members of the franchise in history. What a steal.
Number 1 – Schroeder For Lachey
On September 5, 1988, Washington sent disgruntled backup quarterback Jay Schroeder to the Los Angeles Raiders for Pro Bowl tackle Jim Lachey and conditional draft picks. Schroeder had led Washington to the 1986 NFC title game and still held the franchise’s single-season passing record, but he’d been demoted to third string after losing his job to Doug Williams during the Super Bowl XXII run, and he wanted out. General manager Bobby Beathard was willing to move him, but only on his own terms. Al Davis called constantly trying to strike a deal without including Lachey. Beathard refused every time: Lachey or no one.
The Setup: Quarterback Jay Schroeder had became disgruntled, and demanded a trade. General Manager Beathard and Joe Gibbs had lost leverage because everyone knew Schroeder wanted out.
The Deal: Beathard somehow convinced Al Davis and the Los Angeles Raiders to give up elite, 25-year-old Pro Bowl offensive tackle Jim Lachey PLUS draft picks (which became a 4th and 5th rounder) just to take the unhappy quarterback off their hands.
Rent-A-Tackle: In an incredibly bizarre twist, Lachey had just been traded to the Raiders from the Chargers. He played exactly one game for Los Angeles, and was shipped to Washington roughly six hours after that game ended.
“I’m just a rent-a-tackle,” Lachey joked. “I go wherever.”
The Outcome: Schroeder spent five mostly mediocre, frustrating seasons as the Raiders’ starter. Meanwhile, Lachey immediately solidified “The Hogs” offensive line. He became a first-team All-Pro three times in Washington, anchored the legendary 1991 Super Bowl championship team that allowed just seven sacks*, and is widely considered one of the best left tackles of his era.
Legit Contender
The Sean Gilbert saga would easily qualify for the number one or two spot, but it’s hard to actually call it a trade. Gilbert was taken from the Redskins by the Panthers as a franchised player, and thusly Carolina had to give up two first round picks as compensation.
Why it’s not a trade: This is a fixed, collectively bargained penalty for signing away a restricted asset. The two teams never sit down to negotiate terms, bargain over players, or alter the draft compensation.
Gilbert had sat out the previous season, and was disgruntled. Getting that strong of a draft haul was fantastic for Washington given the circumstances.
That alone might not be worthy of the one or two slot, but it’s what the Redskins got with those picks that makes it so extraordinary. One of the picks turned into arguably the biggest NFL Draft Day trade in history. Washington ultimately got Champ Bailey, and Lavar Arrington, as well as a host of other picks.
Honorable Mention
George Allen‘s 1971 blockbuster with the Rams deserves a mention too, even if it’s really a trade of picks and role players rather than a single marquee name. Washington sent seven draft picks and linebacker Marlin McKeever to Los Angeles for six players, including Jack Pardee, Myron Pottios, Maxie Baughan, and Diron Talbert.
Other than Talbert, no single piece of that return jumps off the page. Together, they became the core of the “Over the Hill Gang,” the defense that anchored Washington’s first Super Bowl appearance the following year. It’s less a trade for a star and more a trade for an identity, and it worked.
Notes:
The other picks that Washington received in the Lachey trade:
Erik Affholter (4th round): Washington never got a single snap out of him. Washington traded him to the Green Bay Packers on April 23, 1989 — just weeks after drafting him, before training camp even started.
Lybrant Robinson (5th round): Never appeared in a regular-season game for Washington either. He became a legitimate starter in the CFL, playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders and Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1991 to 1997.
*- Washington actually allowed nine sacks that season, but two of them came in the second half of the final game of the season. ALL of the starters had been taken out to avoid injury. Previous to that half, the Hogs had allowed just seven sacks on the season.