NFL Trade Deadline: 30 greatest trades in NFL history

11. Rams trade Eric Dickerson to Colts

Believe it or not, there was a time where things weren’t all that smooth between the Los Angeles Rams and Eric Dickerson. Everything is completely fine now when looking at his current involvement with the team.

In a tough decision that can be best described as contract related, the Rams sent Dickerson to the Indianapolis Colts after three games during the 1987 season. The rest is history.

As if rushing for 1,808 yards along with 18 touchdowns as a rookie in 1983 wasn’t already impressive enough, Dickerson joined a rare club the following season after finishing with 2,105 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

Also, the fact that Dickerson recorded double-digit rushing touchdowns in each of his first four seasons with Los Angeles shows there were no regrets surrounding the team’s decision in 1983 to select him with the second overall pick.

Dickerson’s time with the Rams coming to an end sooner than it should have will always be seen as one of the league’s biggest “what if” scenarios. At least when the Rams sent him to the Colts, they would go on to receive 10 players from the deal in return.

As for Dickerson’s time in Indianapolis, the team was able to get plenty of production from the running back through the 1989 season before his numbers started to take a hit. At the time, it was easy to understand the decision by the Colts wanting to bring on a talented running back like Dickerson when looking at some of their struggles on offense. Whether it was worth giving up all those players at the time is still debatable.