Trivia
Trivia for October 25, 2019
Question
Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown passed away earlier this week. He was unusual in that he spent his first four seasons with the Broncos, then was traded to a team in the same division (spending 12 years with the Raiders). Who was the last other player inducted into Canton who was drafted by one team (playing well for them) but then spent most of his career with another team in the same division?
Answer
Curtis Martin. A third-round pick, Martin played well for New England for three seasons, but then played nine years for the Jets. Unlike Brown, Martin wasn’t traded – he signed a free agent offer that wasn’t matched. If we’re looking at trades, the best fit might be Charlie Joiner. Joiner was drafted by the Oilers, playing three-plus years for them before being traded during the 1972 season to the Bengals (both teams at the time in the AFC Central). Joiner was again traded in 1976, and he did his most notable work in his 11 seasons with the Chargers. Other players have been inducted in the last 20 years who were traded early in their careers, but the deals didn’t involve teams in the same division: Champ Bailey (Washington to Denver), Brett Favre (Atlanta to Green Bay), Jerome Bettis (Rams to Pittsburgh), Marshall Faulk (Indianapolis to St. Louis) and Steve Young (Tampa Bay to San Francisco).
