Sports
NFL's worst quarterback trades: Where does Broncos' Russell Wilson deal rank?
The Denver Broncos’ announcement Monday that they would release Russell Wilson next week was an official admission of the disastrous decision they made in 2022 to trade for the former Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
After giving up five draft picks and three players to acquire Wilson from the Seattle Seahawks, the Broncos awarded the quarterback a massive five-year, $242.6 million contract extension before he had even taken so much as a practice snap. In two seasons, Wilson appeared in 30 games and went 11-19, never reaching the playoffs. He was benched in late December in part because of poor performance, but also because of the financial implications and the fear Wilson would get injured and trigger 2024 guarantees.
The Wilson acquisition and ensuing extension will forever rank as one of the worst trades for a veteran quarterback in NFL history. The Broncos, in releasing Wilson, will suffer a dead-cap hit of $85 million split between this year and next year.
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But NFL history is full of cautionary tales of historically bad quarterback moves.
The Dolphins’ failed Daunte Culpepper experiment in 2006 always comes to mind. That error in judgement was exacerbated by Miami’s decision to acquire Culpepper from Minnesota for a second-round pick, banking on the quarterback recovering from knee surgery more effectively than free agent Drew Brees would from shoulder surgery. Culpepper played only four games before clashing with head coach Nick Saban and succumbing to injury. Brees signed with the Saints and became a future Hall of Famer.
Venturing dangerously close to regrettable territory are the Browns, who enter Year 3 with Deshaun Watson. They’re still waiting for him to deliver a return on their investment of three first-round picks, two seconds, a fourth-rounder and an unprecedented $230 million fully guaranteed contract. Can Watson change the narrative? The 2024 season could determine that answer.
But with the book now closed on Wilson and the Broncos, let’s rank the 10 worst trades for a veteran quarterback in the last 35 years. (We’ll save draft-day deals for college stars-turned-NFL busts for another day.)
10. Carson Palmer to Raiders for a first- and second-round pick (2011)
When the Bengals decided to end the Palmer era and turn to Andy Dalton, Palmer’s former Bengals assistant-turned-Raiders head coach Hue Jackson and his team were buyers. Palmer had two forgettable years in Oakland, however. He played in just nine games in 2011, going 4-5, and then went 4-11 as a starter in 2012. Palmer did resurrect his career with four solid seasons in five years with Arizona, including a 13-3 Pro Bowl campaign in 2015, but there were no vintage performances for the Raiders.
9. Brad Johnson to Washington for a first, second and third (1999)
After swinging-and-missing on Heath Shuler and enduring a brief Gus Frerotte/Trent Green carousel, Washington thought it found its man in Johnson, Warren Moon’s backup in Minnesota. Johnson did have a Pro Bowl first season in Washington, but Dan Snyder played fantasy football the next offseason and wanted Jeff George to be the guy. Johnson was out after just two years and went to Tampa Bay, where he helped win a Super Bowl. Minnesota used that first-round pick to draft Culpepper, who before suffering a devastating knee injury was an MVP candidate. Washington still hasn’t found a franchise quarterback.
8. Carson Wentz to Colts for a conditional second, third (2021)
Philadelphia’s prized quarterback was an MVP candidate in 2017 until he blew out his knee late that season, and Wentz never got his groove back after watching Nick Foles lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl victory. His erratic play upon his return didn’t scare off the Colts, though. They thought a reunion with former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich, then Indianapolis’ head coach, would help Wentz return to form. But modest production during a mediocre 9-8 campaign in 2021 caused owner Jim Irsay to sour on Wentz after one season. The Colts did talk Washington into giving up two third-rounders and a swapped second-rounder for Wentz in 2022. But they sure could have used the picks that netted the Eagles DeVonta Smith, A.J. Brown and Jalen Carter.
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7. Drew Bledsoe to Bills for a first (2002)
Tom Brady’s meteoric rise made Bledsoe, the No. 1 pick in 1993, expendable in the 2001 offseason. In a display of hubris, Bill Belichick traded Bledsoe within the division, and the Bills eventually found out why. Bledsoe went 8-8, 6-10 and 9-7 as their starter while throwing 55 touchdowns and 43 interceptions, with no playoff appearances.
6. Rob Johnson to Bills for a first and fourth (1998)
The Bills’ decision to trade for Bledsoe was an attempt to atone for a previous transgression — the decision to send a first- and fourth-round pick to Jacksonville for Johnson, a 1995 fourth-round pick who went 1-0 as a starter for the Jaguars while appearing in just eight games. Johnson was named the starting quarterback for Buffalo after signing a five-year, $25 million contract, but he went just 9-17 in four seasons.
5. Brett Favre to Packers for a first (1992)
Unlike the previous deals cited here, in which teams gambled foolishly and paid dearly for bad trades, this is an example of a team not understanding the talent it had in hand. The Falcons drafted Favre in the 1991 second round, much to the dismay of then-head coach Jerry Glanville. Favre’s first NFL pass went for a pick six and he attempted only three other passes the rest of his rookie season. The Falcons then shipped the future Hall of Famer to Green Bay for the 17th pick of the 1992 draft, and the rest is history.
Rick Mirer was a Notre Dame star but NFL bust at quarterback. (Scott Halleran/Allsport)
4. Rick Mirer to Bears for a first (1997)
The second pick of the 1993 draft, Mirer sorely disappointed in Seattle, going 20-31 while throwing 41 touchdowns and 56 interceptions in four seasons. For some reason, Chicago thought the former Notre Dame star was worthy of a first-round pick in 1997. But Mirer went 0-3 as a starter after throwing zero touchdowns and six interceptions. The Bears granted his request for a release the following offseason.
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3. Chris Chandler to Buccaneers for a first (1990)
The Buccaneers made the regrettable decision to essentially give Steve Young to the 49ers in 1987 and drafted his replacement, Vinny Testaverde, first overall. But after just two seasons, the Bucs sent the second pick to Indianapolis for Chandler, who had gone 10-6 in two seasons with the Colts. Chandler wound up going 0-6 in two seasons with the Buccaneers.
2. Jeff George to Falcons for two firsts and a third (1994)
Drafted No. 1 by Indianapolis in 1990, George boasted a big arm but posted a 14-35 record while throwing 41 touchdowns and 46 interceptions in four seasons. Convinced a bad Colts roster was to blame, the Falcons shipped a boatload of picks to Indianapolis in 1994, two years after trading Favre. George did help Atlanta end a four-year playoff drought in 1995. But he clashed with head coach June Jones and went 16-19 with 50 touchdowns and 32 interceptions before signing with Oakland following the 1996 season.
1. Russell Wilson to Denver for two firsts, two seconds, a fifth and three players (including QB Drew Lock) (2022)
Believing they had a Super Bowl-caliber roster that lacked just a quarterback, the Broncos mortgaged the future with draft picks, players and obscene cap space to get Wilson, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection with a Lombardi Trophy to his name. Then-head coach Nathaniel Hackett — Aaron Rodgers’ former offensive coordinator in Green Bay — was supposed to help Wilson extend his career.
But Wilson’s best days clearly are behind him. In 2022, he completed a career-worst 60.5 percent of his passes and threw just 16 touchdowns and 11 interceptions as the Broncos went 5-12. Hackett was fired after 15 games. Sean Payton landed the Broncos head coaching job in February 2023, and brashly pinned the blame for Wilson and the Broncos’ struggles on the departed Hackett. But midway through the season, Payton had soured on Wilson and he and the Broncos threatened to bench the quarterback if he didn’t agree to rework his contract. Wilson refused and remained the starter until the final two weeks of the season.
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He did post a better record in 2023 (7-8) and completion percentage (66.4), but it wasn’t until Payton switched to a run-heavy attack to reduce Wilson’s workload that Denver’s offense started to improve. Wilson finished the season with a career-low 3,070 passing yards to go with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Now he’s looking for another fresh start, and the Broncos will try to rebuild without premium draft picks and limited cap space.
(Top photos of Carson Palmer, Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz: Streeter Lecka, Dustin Bradford and Andy Lyons / Getty Images)
Sports
Ex-NFL star implores Russell Wilson to hang it up: ‘Do your TV thing’
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Russell Wilson has had his share of ups and downs in his NFL career.
He helped the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship in 2013 and was named to the Pro Bowl four times. But the last few years of his career arguably did some damage to his legacy as he’s spent the last three seasons with three different teams.
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New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 9, 2025. (Brad Penner/Imagn Images)
Wilson is still on the free-agent market as he looks to latch on to a new team for 2026. However, former NFL star Aqib Talib implored Wilson to hang up the cleats.
“Do your TV thing, Russ. It’s over with, man. Once you’ve got to decide, do I even want to play?” Talib said on “The Arena: Gridiron.” “I think you don’t really want to play. I hate when guys get to the later part of their career and then they start doing the bounce-around thing and they’re not going to win. There was no chip in New York. That’s just going to be another stop on your resume.”
Wilson reportedly garnered some interest from NFL teams.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson stands on the field before a game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, PA on Oct. 26, 2025. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
He told the New York Post that the New York Jets were one of them.
Wilson also was reportedly a candidate to take Matt Ryan’s spot on CBS’ “The NFL Today” after Ryan left to take a front office job with the Atlanta Falcons.
Wilson has 46,966 passing yards and 353 passing touchdowns in 205 career games, but the 2025 season with the New York Giants was one to forget.
Wilson started three games and made some bizarre decisions in a loss against the Chiefs. Jaxson Dart was named the starting quarterback. As he came in to take a few snaps while Dart was being checked for a concussion, Wilson was booed.
New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson watches from the sidelines during the second half against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Oct. 19, 2025. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)
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Should he end up signing with another team, Wilson will be entering his age-38 season.
Sports
Artists, community come together to welcome World Cup to Inglewood with murals and more
A lot has changed since Jacori Perry attended Morningside High School.
Perry is now a renowned artist who goes by the names Mr. Ace and AiseBorn.
The school is now known as Inglewood High School United.
And the lecture hall on that campus now features a large, ornate mural of a soccer ball being grasped by the hands of two people — freshly painted by the 2004 Morningside graduate as the city of Inglewood prepares to host eight World Cup games at SoFi Stadium starting next month.
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11. The artists, whose real name is Jacori Perry, attended the school when it was known as Morningside High more than two decades ago.
(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)
“If you told me that I would be back here painting one of the walls on this campus when I was in high school, I don’t think that I necessarily would have foreseen it,” Mr. Ace said as he was putting the finishing touches on his mural last week. “So I’m a little in amazement about just the way life works in that sense.”
He was one of several Los Angeles-based artists to participate in a Road to World Cup Community Day last month at Inglewood High United. Many of the artists — including Juan Pablo Reyes (“JP murals”), Michelle Ruby Guerrero (“Mr. B Baby”) and Angel Acordagoitia — sketched designs on portable panels (12-feet by 8-feet) and picnic tables for community members to paint.
The picnic tables will remain at the high school in front of Mr. Ace’s mural. The mobile murals will be placed throughout LAX to welcome visitors arriving for the World Cup.
Kathryn Schloessman, CEO of the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, said in a news release that the event was “just one example of how the energy of the World Cup can be felt in neighborhoods across our region.”
“Students, artists, and volunteers came together to create a work of art that will live on well beyond the end of the tournament,” Schloessman said. “It’s a reflection of the creativity, diversity, and community pride that makes our region so special as we prepare to host the world for FIFA World Cup 2026.”
Community members were encouraged to take part in the painting process, no matter their skill level.
“We made it easy enough for people that have zero experience to a proficient level of experience, for them to all be involved,” said Reyes, who designed and helped paint two mural panels and three tables. “We did the sketch, and then I tried to dab a little bit of color — whatever color is supposed to be there, I dabbed a little bit of color right there, so they would have a guide. …
Students and community members help paint a mural panel during a Road to World Cup Community Day event May 2 at Inglewood High School.
(Dawn M. Burkes / Los Angeles Times)
“I was right there, kind of supervising, making sure that everything went as planned. And if anybody has questions, they’re more than welcome to let me know about them. But, yeah, it’s pretty easy for them to kind of be involved and feel that sense of ownership and have a sense of pride that, ‘Yeah, I was part of that mural-creation process.’ It’s a rich experience for them.”
Acordagoitia sketched several table-top designs for the public to paint at the event.
“They did great,” he said of the community members. “They helped a lot. They were asking questions. They got all the other colors correct. So, yeah, they were excited. A lot of kids were excited to see the live painting, because now kids are used to being on their phones. So that was a great experience for them.”
Acordagoitia also opted to paint a mural panel on his own because “it was a little more technical,” involving portraits of his 8-year-old son, a nephew and a friend.
“I wanted to focus more on the youth because that’s really our future,” he said. “So that’s, that’s the main thing about the mural, just about the kids, soccer, culture, community. It’s exciting for me, because I grew up playing soccer and to include soccer with art, it’s just a dream come true.”
Guerrero said “the community was a big help in filling in all the background colors that I need in order to build the detail and layers” on the two mural panels she designed.
“My whole style is based on culture. And I think that there’s a connection there with the World Cup and how I feel like it brings together all the culture and just, like, celebration,” Guerrero said. “It kind of goes hand in hand with the type of work I do, because my stuff is really festive, celebrating culture. And just as an L.A.-based artist, I think the collaboration made sense.”
The four artists also took part in another Road to World Cup Community Day in downtown L.A. at Gloria Molina Grand Park on March 14. At that event, the artists sketched designs on large sculptures shaped like soccer balls and an oversized picnic table, also for community members to paint.
While Mr. Ace opted to paint his permanent mural at Inglewood High School United on his own, he was sure to include the community theme into his work.
“The idea was really centered around just creating something that was community-based — something that represented the World Cup but also represented some sense of community,” he said. “And so what I did was try to create something that was symbolic, very direct in terms of its relationship to soccer and figuring out through that how to create something simple that [brings] into that a sense of community. And that’s how I landed on the two hands holding the soccer ball.”
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his World Cup-themed mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Back when he was a student on that campus, Mr. Ace said he was always involved in art and knew he wanted a career as an artist. He struggled to come up with the right words to describe how it felt being back there creating a work of art to be shared with the students, all of the community and everyone who happens to see it on the way to a World Cup match.
“I guess there’s no words to really describe it,” he said. “I think if any artist gets the opportunity to paint at their own high school — especially if they’ve been doing large-scale works around the city, the country or the world — I think that is a little touching. When it’s attached to something like the World Cup … you know, a large part of my childhood was spent in Inglewood, so coming from my circumstances and life, I think it’s even more intriguing.”
Sports
Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
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The best Indianapolis 500 finish could be subjective, depending on which driver a fan was rooting for to win.
It certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
So take this list for what it’s worth. One view of the 10 best finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Of course, it skews to more recent decades when the runs have come a little faster and the finishes have had a tendency to be a little closer.
We’ll add one each day to this list of fantastic finishes ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500 on May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
10. Ericsson outduels O’Ward (2022)
After a red flag, Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout. The shootout didn’t last two laps, though, as there was a crash on the final lap behind them. Ericsson had a comfortable lead when the red flag came out for a crash with four laps to go, a situation where in past Indianapolis 500 races, they likely would have ended the race under caution with Ericsson as the winner.
9. Foyt survives chaos (1967)
How does a driver who wins by two laps end up on this list? It’s because the win nearly didn’t happen on the last lap. A big crash with cars and debris littering the frontstretch just ahead of Foyt as he came to the checkered flag forced him to navigate through the wreckage for the win.
8. Sato can’t catch Franchitti (2012)
This was one of those finishes where the leader holds on for the win, but boy did the leader have to hold on. Takuma Sato tried to pass Dario Franchitti early on the final lap but to no avail and Franchitti sped off for the victory. This was one of those Indy 500s that made you hold your breath all the way to the checkered flag.
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