Green Bay Packers

Looking back at trades during Ted Thompson's reign as Packers GM

Published Jan. 11, 2018 9:35 p.m. ET

Dave Heller

Ted Thompson's epitaph no doubt will include his first NFL draft as Green Bay's general manager, when the Packers took Aaron Rodgers in the first round despite having Brett Favre already on the roster.

Some might want to include his lack of free-agent signings as well, although Charles Woodson and Julius Peppers certainly had their impact, especially the former.

Like many GMs, Thompson made a number of draft-day trades, swapping picks to move both up and down in the selection process. But, by our count, Thompson also made 14 trades outside of the draft, ranging from innocuous to impactful to unforgettable.

How did Thompson and the Packers end up faring on these deals? We break down all 13 in chronological order:

Sept. 3, 2005

The deal: CB Chris Johnson to Rams for LB Robert Thomas

The result: Thomas played in 10 games in 2005, recording 41 tackles with one interception, his lone season with the Packers. A seventh-round pick in 2003, Johnson never played for Green Bay. He'd play 13 games for the Rams in St. Louis in 2005 (23 tackles, 22.6 kick return average with a 99-yard TD), be cut by the Chiefs in 2006 and re-emerge in 2007 with the Raiders -- where he was a teammate of Thomas. Johnson played for Oakland from 2007-11 and then in five games for Baltimore in 2012.

The winner: The Raiders?

Aug. 22, 2006

The deal: CB Therrian Fontenot to Browns for WR Carlton Brewster

The result: Fontenot played in one game for Cleveland, which is one more than Brewster had in his NFL career. The wide receiver at one point was with the Browns, Packers, Chargers, Broncos and Saints, but his only pro games came in the Arena Football League. Fun fact: In 2015, Fontenot was arrested for attempting to rob the house of former NFLer Bernard Berrian -- the two had been teammates at Fresno State.

The winner: I mean … let's call this one a wash.

Sept. 13, 2006

The deal: RB Samkon Gado to Texans for RB Vernand Morency

The result: Morency gained 421 yards on 91 carries (4.6 average) with two TDs after being acquired by Green Bay, then another 108 yards on 29 carries (3.7) average in 2007 before his NFL career came to an end. Gado had some success with Green Bay in 2005, but after one game the running backs were swapped. He'd gain just 263 yards for Houston in 2006-07 before spending time with the Dolphins and Rams. Gado gained more yards with the Packers in 2005 (582) then he did combined in his last four seasons. Gado used his NFL money to get his medical degree and is currently in the otolaryngology residency program at St. Louis University and plans on returning to his native Nigeria to help the people there.

The winner: Packers, we guess, but really Gado.

Sept. 1, 2007:

The deal: Future draft pick (6th round, 2008) to Giants for RB Ryan Grant

The result: An undrafted free agent, Grant spent 2005 on the Giants' practice squad then missed all of 2006. Grant was third string on the Packers in 2007 until injuries elevated him … and then he proceeded to rush for 956 yards on 188 carries (5.1 average) with eight TDs; 929 of those yards came in the final 10 games. He'd then rush for 201 yards and three TDs in a playoff win over Seattle. Grant would rush for over 1,200 yards in each of the next two seasons, but played just once in Green Bay's 2010 Super Bowl season and would peter out by 2012. In all, he ran for 4,143 yards (4.3 average) with 66 TDs in 67 games with the Packers. The sixth-round pick would be traded to Pittsburgh, who took safety Ryan Mundy, with the Giants trading up to take linebacker Bryan Kehl, who would play in just 31 games for them.

The winner: Clearly the Packers. (OK, the Giants won the Super Bowl in 2007, but we're talking just this trade.)

March 1, 2008

The deal: DT Corey Williams to Browns for 2008 second-round pick

The result: Thompson had slapped a franchise tag on Williams and then surprisingly dealt him to Cleveland instead of trying to work out a long-term deal. Williams had two solid seasons with the Browns before moving onto Detroit, where he played 2 1/2 years. With that draft pick, No. 56 overall, the Packers selected … QB Brian Brohm. We'd say the Packers could have selected so-and-so instead but three picks later they took CB Patrick Lee, so just forget it.

The winner: Browns. Did you not see that mention of Brian Brohm?

Aug. 6, 2008

The deal: QB Brett Favre to Jets for 2009 third-round pick

The result: We don’t think we need to rehash the background of this trade, right? With the Jets, Favre threw for 3,472 yards and 22 TDs, but also a league-high 22 interceptions as New York missed out on the playoffs with a 9-7 record. We know what happened next. Thompson used the third-rounder obtained in the trade to make a draft-day deal to move back into the first round and select linebacker Clay Matthews, who has made six Pro Bowls and has 439 tackles, 80 sacks, 14 forced fumbles, 40 passes defensed and six interceptions in his nine years with the Packers.

The winner: Looking back unemotionally, of course the Packers won this. But this deal scarred many for years (and some, perhaps, forever).

April 13, 2009

The deal: LS J.J. Jansen to Panthers for future pick (7th round, 2011)

The result: The Packers kept Brett Goode, then in his second year over Jansen, who has been the long snapper in every game for Carolina since the trade, making the Pro Bowl in 2013. Goode has missed eight games in the same span but has never made the Pro Bowl. The pick acquired was later dealt with a fourth-rounder to Denver for a fifth-rounder (D.J. Williams) and a sixth-rounder (D.J. Smith). The Broncos selected a pair of tight ends -- Julius Thomas and Virgil Green, both of whom are still playing, unlike Williams and Smith.

The winner: The long and the short of it -- Panthers (and eventually, Broncos).

Sept. 5, 2009

The deal: OT Tony Moll to Ravens for DB Derrick Martin

The result: Martin appeared in 19 games with just one start from 2009-10 with the Packers, recording 34 tackles and one interception, before finishing out his career with the Giants (2011), Patriots (2012) and Bears (2013). Moll played in 21 games for Baltimore, with three starts, finishing out his career in 2011 with the Chargers.

The winner: Push.

Oct. 10, 2010

The deal: Conditional draft pick (not exercised) to Jaguars for S Anthony Smith

The result: Smith appeared in four games as a reserve, accumulating all of seven tackles, before landing on injured reserve. Because he didn't play in five games, Green Bay didn't have to send Jacksonville a pick.

The winner: Smith. The Packers basically got no production. The Jaguars didn't even get any compensation. Meanwhile, Smith ended up with a Super Bowl ring.

Sept. 3, 2011

The deals: FB Quinn Johnson to Titans for conditional draft pick (not exercised); OG Caleb Schlauderaff to Jets for seventh-round pick

The result: Johnson appeared in four games for Tennessee before being waived -- thus no compensation to the Packers. Denver picked him up, waived him and the Titans re-signed him. He'd play all 16 games with eight starts in 2012 and four more in '13. In three years with the Jets, Schlauderaff played in 12 games with one start. The pick Green Bay received from New York was involved in a deal where the Packers got a fifth-round pick and selected LB Terrell Manning, who lasted all of one year in Green Bay.

The winner: If it has to be someone, it's Tennessee, which somehow through the process ended up with a starting fullback for one season. But really, no one.

Oct. 18, 2016

The deal: Conditional draft pick (not exercised) to Chiefs for RB Knile Davis

The result: With the Packers' running game in dire straits, Thompson picked up Davis, who had rushed for 800 yards and 11 TDs in 55 games with Kansas City but had become expendable. Anyone else remember people being excited about the prospect of Davis? He rushed five times for five yards -- with a long of four yards -- in two games with the Packers before being let go.

The winner: Let's see, the Chiefs had to pay $238,235 in dead money and the Packers $79,412. The Jets, who would sign and cut him without Davis even playing a game, had $39,706 in dead money. We don't know if there's a winner here, but there certainly are some losers.

Aug. 30, 2016

The deal: LB Lerentee McCray to Bills for seventh-round pick in 2018

The result: McCray was signed by the Packers in April then shipped off to Buffalo in August, where he played one season, accumulating 16 tackles in 13 games. McCray signed with Jacksonville in 2017.

The winner: Brian Gutekunst. Thompson left the new GM a parting gift -- an extra draft pick to play with in 2018.

Sept. 3, 2017

The deal: LB Jayronne Elliott to Cowboys for conditional draft pick (not exercised)

The result: Elliott lasted two weeks on Dallas' roster, but did not appear in any games. Thus the seventh-rounder the Packers were supposed to receive disappeared.

The winner: ?