Twenty years ago today, one of the biggest trades in NFL history went down.
The Minnesota Vikings, an underachieving team that was believed to be only a solid tailback away from contending for a Super Bowl appearance, sent a truckload of players and picks to the Cowboys for Herschel Walker.
As Tim Cowlishaw of the Dallas Morning News explains, folks in Dallas initially didn’t like the trade. But coach Jimmy Johnson cared less about the collection of second-tier players and more about the draft picks.
“We just traded Herschel for two ones, three twos and two threes,” Johnson said, per Cowlishaw. “You figure out if that’s a good trade.”
And though the deal helped deliver for the Cowboys three Super Bowl trophies as the Vikings still are waiting (33 years and counting) for a chance to improve their record in title games to 1-4, Cowlishaw points out that the Cowboys didn’t celebrate the anniversary of the trade.
That might be due to the fact, as Cowlishaw reasons, that October 14 is the one-year anniversary of the fleecing of the Cowboys by the lowly Lions.
Last year, Dallas sent a first-round pick, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick to Detroit for receiver Roy Williams and a seventh-round pick.
In ten games last year, Williams caught 19 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown. In four more games this year, Williams has 11 reception for 214 yards and a score.
In 14 total games, that’s a total of 30 catches for 412 yards and two touchdowns.
So, yeah, 19 years after the ‘Boys did the hosing, the Cowboys got hosed. But we’ve got a feeling that the Lions won’t have three Lombardi Trophies to show for it in 20 years.