Trade for Herschel Walker in 1989
C’mon, you knew this was going to be on the list. Trading for Herschel Walker and everything that failed to come from it is something that will remain forever in the memory of Minnesota’s fan base.
Walker was the best player on a Dallas Cowboys team in 1989 that started their season with an 0-5 record. The Cowboys’ head coach at the time, Jimmy Johnson, decided the team should just use their top running back to acquire valuable assets since they weren’t winning with him on the field anyways.
So in came the Vikings with an offer that, in the end, Dallas couldn’t refuse. Minnesota agreed to send five players and three 1990 draft picks (a first, a second, and a sixth) to the Cowboys in exchange for Walker.
The deal also allowed Dallas to turn each of the five players they acquired into draft picks if they released or traded them. Smartly, that’s what the Cowboys did, so in the end, they acquired three first-round draft picks, three second-round draft selections, one third-round pick, and one sixth-round selection for sending Walker, two third-round draft picks, and a 10th-round selection to the Vikings.
Walker lasted in Minnesota for less than three years and he never rushed for more than 825 yards in a single season during his time in the Twin Cities. The Vikings also only made the playoffs once during Walker’s tenure with the franchise.
All Dallas went on to do after the trade was add several players like Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson to their roster that helped them win three Super Bowls from 1992 to 1995.