6 most disappointing trades in Minnesota Vikings history

Trade for Sam Bradford in 2016

After losing in dramatic fashion during the first round of the 2015 playoffs, the Vikings were heading into the 2016 season highly motivated to prove to the rest of the league that they were going to be a legitimate contender.

During the summer of 2016, it felt as though former Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had taken some significant steps in his development. The excitement surrounding Bridgewater’s potential for the 2016 season was enormous.

But then the entire Vikings fan base was delivered a punch to the gut when Bridgewater suffered a severe, career-threatening knee injury just before the start of the regular season.

Minnesota didn’t want to waste the talent on their roster in 2016, so the front office made the decision to trade a 2017 first-round draft pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for quarterback Sam Bradford.

At first, it seemed like a great trade as Bradford and the Vikings got off to a 5-0 start in 2016. However, Minnesota only managed to win three of their final 11 games of the season, and they were left on the outside of the playoffs.

Bradford was still with the Vikings in 2017 and his second season with the team got off to a blazing-hot start. The excitement in 2017 with Bradford was even more short-lived than in 2016 as ailing knees only let him appear in two games during his second year with the purple and gold.

For what Minnesota gave up in their trade for the former No. 1 draft pick, Bradford’s tenure with the team was incredibly disappointing.