AFC team almost landed Herschel Walker before Vikings traded for him

Before the infamous trade that sent Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings, the running back almost wound up with the Cleveland Browns.

The trade between the Minnesota Vikings and the Dallas Cowboys that sent running back Herschel Walker to the Twin Cities is one that will forever be engraved in NFL history.

For Vikings fans, it is a deal that few like to talk about since Walker was never able to live up to his expectations in his short tenure with the franchise.

As for Cowboys fans, initial outrage eventually turned into joy as the team was able to acquire the assets that ultimately resulted in them winning three Super Bowls during the early 1990s.

Before trading Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings, the Dallas Cowboys got an offer from the Cleveland Browns

When former Dallas head coach Jimmy Johnson began to contact other teams about Walker being available in a trade, Minnesota wasn’t actually the first team to send over an offer for the running back.

The first trade offer for Walker came from the Cleveland Browns according to ESPN’s Steve Wulf. In their offer, the Browns were willing to give up a player, two first-round draft picks, and three second-round selections.

Johnson was reportedly interested in accepting the offer from Cleveland, but he wanted to wait just a little longer to see if any other teams would come in and attempt to offer an even larger compensation package.

Eventually, that team ended up being the Vikings, who presented an offer that included five players and picks in the first, second, and sixth round of the 1990 NFL Draft.

What made the Cowboys choose this offer over the one they received from the Browns was the fact that they could receive additional draft picks from Minnesota if they released or traded any of the five players that were sent over in the deal.

Since Johnson was only looking to compile as many draft selections as possible, getting rid of the players the Vikings included in the trade is exactly what the Dallas head coach did.

In the end, the Cowboys received three first-round picks, three second-round picks, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick from Minnesota in exchange for Walker.

Knowing this makes it much easier to understand why Vikings fans don’t like to be reminded that this trade actually happened.