6 NFL Trades That Accidentally Saved A GM From Getting Fired

by Jeremy Block - 7/22/2026

NFL trades that saved GMs job Alex Smith Kansas City Chiefs

Every NFL general manager has made at least one move they spent a sleepless night second-guessing. The difference between the ones who kept their jobs and the ones who got walked out to the parking lot often comes down to a single trade going right when everything else was going sideways. Sometimes the best decision a GM ever made was one nobody wanted them to make at the time.

The six trades on this list were not obvious wins when they happened. Some were mocked, some were questioned, and a couple nearly got the GM fired before the player even suited up. Here is what happened when the gamble paid off.

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Ron Wolf Trades a First-Round Pick for Brett Favre (1992)

Seventy-five days into the job and Ron Wolf was already betting his career on a quarterback nobody else in the league wanted. The Green Bay Packers had made the playoffs just twice in the previous 20 seasons, and Wolf's first major move as GM was to send a first-round pick to Atlanta for a second-year quarterback who had attempted four passes as a rookie, thrown two interceptions, and completed none.

Wolf had been chasing Favre since watching him throw in pregame warmups during a Falcons-Packers game in 1991, less than a week after taking the GM job. He saw something nobody else did, and he put his entire tenure on the line to prove it. Green Bay went 9-7 in Favre's first season, went to the playoffs in four of the next five years, and won Super Bowl XXXI after the 1996 season. The trade may have looked insane in 1992, but it did not take long to realize Wolf was onto something, and it paid off in a big way.

The Herschel Walker Trade Saves Jerry Jones (1989-1992)

The trade that built a dynasty did not save the GM who made it. It saved the one on the other end. Minnesota Vikings GM Mike Lynn sent a package to Dallas that included five players and a collection of draft picks for running back Herschel Walker, picks that multiplied to eight once Dallas cut every player Minnesota sent over.

Funny enough, the fallout was catastrophic for Minnesota, with the team never coming close to a Super Bowl with Walker in the backfield.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, used those picks to snag Emmitt Smith, Darren Woodson, and Russell Maryland, among others, and traded some for additional assets. Smith rushed for over 1,500 yards in just his second season, Woodson recorded 155 solo tackles that same year, and Dallas went on to win three Super Bowls in four years from the 1992 to 1995 seasons.

For Jerry Jones, the Walker trade turned what looked like a public relations disaster into one of the most celebrated front office runs in NFL history.

John Dorsey Trades for Alex Smith (2013)

The Kansas City Chiefs had gone 2-14 the season before John Dorsey took over as general manager, and the pressure to turn things around fast was immediate. Dorsey's first major move was trading two second-round picks to San Francisco for quarterback Alex Smith, a move that raised eyebrows given Smith's rocky run with the 49ers and the fact that San Francisco had just benched him in favor of Colin Kaepernick.

However, Dorsey was onto something others simply could not see. Right out of the gate, Smith went 11-5 in his first season and reached a career high with over 3,300 passing yards in Kansas City, leading the Chiefs to the playoffs for the first time since 2010. He made the Pro Bowl in 2013 and helped lay the foundation for a franchise that had been among the most dysfunctional in the league for years.

Dorsey's tenure in Kansas City eventually gave way to Andy Reid and the Patrick Mahomes era, but the Smith trade is what bought everyone time to build toward it. Without those playoff seasons Smith delivered, the entire franchise timeline looks different.

Charlie Armey Trades for Marshall Faulk (1999)

The St. Louis Rams had not made the playoffs in a decade, coming off a 4-12 finish in 1998 and nine straight seasons without a postseason appearance. GM Charlie Armey was not exactly sitting on a comfortable chair at that point, and trading a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick to Indianapolis for running back Marshall Faulk was the kind of move that either saves your job or ends it.

The front office had already made the bold decision to start Kurt Warner at quarterback, which had the organization split into two camps, and the Faulk trade only added another layer of intensity to the situation. Sometimes all a team needs is a massive reset, and for the Rams, that is exactly what it was.

Faulk ran for 1,381 yards and caught 87 passes for 1,048 yards in his first season in St. Louis, becoming just the second player in NFL history alongside Roger Craig to surpass 1,000 yards both rushing and receiving in the same season. The Rams went from 4-12 to 13-3 and won Super Bowl XXXIV, all thanks to Armey.

Les Snead Trades for Matthew Stafford (2021)

Les Snead had been the Los Angeles Rams' general manager since 2012, and had built a reputation as one of the more aggressive traders in the league, which was both his calling card and his biggest liability.

The Rams had just made it to the Super Bowl in 2018 and fell short to New England, and the window appeared to be closing with Jared Goff under center. So Snead did what Snead is known for—making moves. He sent Goff, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick to Detroit for Matthew Stafford. Keep in mind, Stafford was coming off a career-high 21 interceptions, so it is safe to say this trade caught some attention, and not the good kind for Snead.

It all worked out. Stafford threw for 4,886 yards and 41 touchdowns in his first season in Los Angeles, led the Rams to Super Bowl LVI, and won it with a fourth-quarter comeback against the Cincinnati Bengals. Trading a franchise quarterback and two first-round picks for a new one is a move that ends careers when it fails. When it works, it ends with a Lombardi Trophy and a new contract extension.

Howie Roseman Trades for A.J. Brown (2022)

Philadelphia fans have never been known for their patience with front office decisions, and GM Howie Roseman has felt that more than most. He had built and then partially dismantled a Super Bowl roster, and the pressure to get the Eagles back to championship contention was growing.

On the night of the 2022 NFL Draft, Roseman sent the 18th overall pick and a third-round pick to the Tennessee Titans for wide receiver A.J. Brown, who had just made clear he wanted out of Tennessee. Now, giving up a first-round pick for a receiver on draft night is not standard operating procedure. As a matter of fact, some GMs would call that just plain stupid, but Roseman had an itch.

Brown's first season with Philly? A career-setting one. He set a Philadelphia franchise record for receiving yards, made Second-Team All-Pro, and the Eagles went 14-3 before reaching the Super Bowl. Roseman went from a GM under pressure to the architect of one of the best offenses in the NFC. One phone call on draft night, one first-round pick, and the entire trajectory of the franchise changed.

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Start:	July 24, 2026 @ 11:45 PM
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6 NFL Trades That Accidentally Saved A GM From Getting Fired

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