This List Of Future Stars The Chicago Bears Traded Will Make You Cry

Normally an NFL team gets the benefit of the doubt when they ship out a player. It usually means the guy couldn't cut it on their roster. Odds are he wouldn't on another. Look at the long list of names the Chicago Bears traded over the years and there is plenty of truth to that statement. Unfortunately this franchise is far from batting 1.000 on this front. In fact they have some rather dubious dark spots on their record. Moment where they inexplicably dealt a really good talent for one reason or another, then inevitably watched him ascend with his new team. A bitter pill to swallow both for them and the city of Chicago. How deep does the list of mistakes go? Deeper than anybody would care to admit. Here is a list of names they gave away, often for peanut. Try not to weep, at least for the first few slides. [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Films-Encore-Bill-Brown-NFL-Videos000000.000-000630.398.mp4"][/video]

Bill Brown

Nobody remembers Bill Brown these days. Likely because the Bears were fortunate enough to land Gale Sayers a few years after trading him. Then again considering he was a fullback, the Bears would then have had two Pro Bowlers in the same backfield. That would've been something to rival the Packers of the 1960s with Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor. Instead George Halas chose to trade Brown after just one year to the upstart Minnesota Vikings. It was a move they would rue for the next 13 years. From 1962 through 1974, Brown went to four Pro Bowls. He produced over 1,000 yards from scrimmage in four seasons and scored 77 touchdowns. Minnesota made the playoffs six times during that stretch. The Bears only once. That included three trips to the Super Bowl. He only missed two games in his career as well. Sayers, for all his greatness, missed almost entire seasons.

Erich Barnes

The Bears suffered from a classic case of knee-jerk reacting with Erich Barnes. A former fourth round pick, he was terrific in his first two seasons with the Bears. He collected nine interceptions over that span and went to his first Pro Bowl. Then in 1960 he went through an unusual dry spell, failing to produce a single turnover in 12 games. Sensing a drop off in his play, Chicago dealt him to the New York Giants in 1961. In the end they got by without him, winning the NFL championship two years later. Still they have to wonder just how much more dominant their defense would've been had they kept Barnes. From the moment he arrived in New York he became a star. In just four seasons he delivered a staggering 18 interceptions. He made the Pro Bowl each of those years before again being trade, this time to Cleveland. He'd claim a sixth Pro Bowl while finishing his career there.

Don Meredith

It became clear by the start of the 1950s that the Bears were beginning to struggle at identifying quality quarterbacks. A problem that has persisted in the decades since then. One of their most egregious blunders over than span was willingly drafting Don Meredith and then shipping him to the Dallas Cowboys for a third round pick. The idea at the time was the Bears were helping the expansion team get off to a solid start and made the pick of Meredith as a gesture of good will. No matter how one spins it, the Bears made a mistake. They should've found a way to keep him. Instead Meredith helped elevate the Cowboys to contenders by the late 1960s. A three-time Pro Bowler, he led them to the NFL championship two years-in-a-row. Try to imagine what might've happen had the Bears had him under center with Gale Sayers at running back over that span. Actually, scratch that. Don't imagine it. Way too painful.

[caption id="attachment_85922" align="aligncenter" width="1492"] Football: Super Bowl VI: Dallas Cowboys Chuck Howley (54) in action, making catch for interception vs Miami Dolphins Jim Kiick (21) at Tulane Stadium.
New Orleans, LA 1/16/1972
CREDIT: Walter Iooss Jr. (Photo by Walter Iooss Jr. /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)
(Set Number: X16492 )[/caption]

Chuck Howley

This might be the only trade on the list that can be deemed "excusable." Chuck Howley was no doubt a gifted linebacker. The Bears thought so, making him the seventh overall pick in 1958. Unfortunately the first three seasons of his career were ruined by injuries. Experts weren't sure he'd ever be able to play after after missing all of 1960. That didn't stop the Dallas Cowboys from dealing for him. They desperately needed talent for their young roster and felt it was worth the risk. They were absolutely right. Howley became a pillar for the eventual Doomsday defenses of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In addition to reaching six Pro Bowls he also won a Super Bowl title and remains the only player in NFL history to win Super Bowl MVP as part of the losing team. It's hard not to think about what might've happened had the Bears held on just a little longer. They could've teams him with Dick Butkus, who arrived a few years later. Sigh. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Greg-Olsen-Explodes-with-9-Catches-181-Yards-NFL-Week-5-Player-Highlights.mp4"][/video]

Greg Olsen

This is probably the one that Bears fans are up in arms about the most. No surprise since it's the most recent. The reasoning at the time that Greg Olsen was traded to the Carolina Panthers was due to offensive coordinator Mike Martz. His scheme didn't have much use for receiving tight ends. So rather than tell him to find a way to make due, considering Olsen was fairly productive anyway, the Bears dealt him for a third round pick. Easily one of the biggest steals of the past decade for Carolina. Olsen has become their primary weapon in the passing game. He has posted over 1,000 yards in each of the past three seasons alone and reached three Pro Bowls. In the most bitter twist of fate, Martz was fired following the season that trade was made in 2011. The only thing the Bears salvaged was packaging that pick in a deal to get Brandon Marshall in 2012. [video width="1920" height="1080" mp4="https://www.sportsmockery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Two-minutes-of-pro-football-history-Creating-a-Layne.mp4"][/video]

Bobby Layne

Honoring the request of to trade Bobby Layne is probably the single-biggest regret George Halas would have during his illustrious career running the Bears. A future Hall of Fame quarterback, he would end up leading the Detroit Lions to championships in 1952 and 1953. One of the truly great passers of his era. One can imagine how different that decade might've been for Chicago had he stayed on the roster. So what happened? Truthfully it was a multitude of circumstances. The Bears had a logjam at QB already when he arrived. An aging Sid Luckman was still on the roster and Johnny Lujack, a two-time Pro Bowler himself was taking over as starter. Angry at not being able to play, Layne tried to goad the Bears into trading him. At the time Halas, like the other NFL owners, were distracted by the competing All American Football Conference. Rather than sticking to his guns and ignoring the threat, Halas simply granted the request and dealt Layne to the New York Bulldogs. He eventually wound up in Detroit. Sure enough Chicago paid for the mistake. Lujack suddenly retired following the 1951 season after just four years. The very next season Layne won his first championship. Ouch.