Wide Receivers changing teams in mid-season
Posted by Chase Stuart on October 8, 2009
Yesterday, the Jets traded with the Browns to acquire Braylon Edwards. Edwards joins a relatively short list of notable wide receivers to switch teams in mid-season. Since the merger, there have been only 14 wide receivers to play for multiple teams in a season and to average at least 35 receiving yards per game for one team. Only 26 WRs have averaged at least 25 yards per game for one of the two teams. A complete list of those receivers is listed below:
year team name g rec yd td recyd/g 2008 det Roy E. Williams 5 17 232 1 46.4 2008 dal Roy E. Williams 10 19 198 1 19.8 2007 mia Chris Chambers 6 31 415 0 69.2 2007 sdg Chris Chambers 10 35 555 4 55.5 2006 rai Doug Gabriel 3 5 84 0 28.0 2006 nwe Doug Gabriel 12 25 344 3 28.7 2005 car Rod Gardner 10 9 84 1 8.4 2005 gnb Rod Gardner 2 4 67 0 33.5 2004 dal Antonio Bryant 5 16 266 0 53.2 2004 cle Antonio Bryant 10 42 546 4 54.6 2004 cle Quincy Morgan 6 9 144 3 24.0 2004 dal Quincy Morgan 9 22 260 0 28.9 2004 rai Jerry Rice 6 5 67 0 11.2 2004 sea Jerry Rice 11 25 362 3 32.9 2003 cle Kevin Johnson 9 41 381 2 42.3 2003 jax Kevin Johnson 6 17 253 1 42.2 2002 atl Willie Jackson 7 18 199 0 28.4 2002 was Willie Jackson 5 7 58 1 11.6 2001 nwe Bert Emanuel 2 4 25 0 12.5 2001 det Bert Emanuel 6 17 221 0 36.8 2001 den Eddie Kennison 8 15 169 1 21.1 2001 kan Eddie Kennison 5 16 322 0 64.4 1997 kan Brett Perriman 5 6 83 0 16.6 1997 mia Brett Perriman 8 19 309 1 38.6 1996 jax Andre Rison 10 34 458 2 45.8 1996 gnb Andre Rison 5 13 135 1 27.0 1986 tam Kevin House 7 11 206 0 29.4 1986 ram Kevin House 8 7 178 2 22.3 1984 cle Duriel Harris 11 32 512 2 46.5 1984 dal Duriel Harris 5 1 9 0 1.8 1981 nor Rich Caster 4 7 108 0 27.0 1981 was Rich Caster 3 5 77 0 25.7 1981 nor Wes Chandler 4 17 285 1 71.3 1981 sdg Wes Chandler 12 52 857 5 71.4 1981 sdg Ron B. Smith 9 3 84 2 9.3 1981 phi Ron B. Smith 3 4 84 0 28.0 1980 det Mike Friede 4 1 21 0 5.3 1980 nyg Mike Friede 7 21 350 0 50.0 1978 dal Golden Richards 1 1 2 0 2.0 1978 chi Golden Richards 15 27 379 0 25.3 1975 sdg Marlin Briscoe 3 2 25 0 8.3 1975 det Marlin Briscoe 8 22 347 4 43.4 1973 nor Danny Abramowicz 2 2 18 0 9.0 1973 sfo Danny Abramowicz 12 35 442 1 36.8 1972 oti Charlie Joiner 6 16 306 2 51.0 1972 cin Charlie Joiner 6 8 133 0 22.2 1972 buf Haven Moses 5 3 60 1 12.0 1972 den Haven Moses 8 15 224 5 28.0 1972 pit Dave L. Smith 6 10 98 0 16.3 1972 oti Dave L. Smith 8 20 218 0 27.3 1971 nyg Clifton McNeil 6 16 209 1 34.8 1971 was Clifton McNeil 8 14 244 2 30.5
In addition to holding most notable records by a wide receiver, Jerry Rice also holds a less famous one: most games played in a season. Because Edwards was traded before the Jets bye, he won't have the rare opportunity to play in 17 games in a season. But how will he do as a Jet? Only one of the receivers listed above helped his team win the Super Bowl -- Andre Rison joined the Packers in mid-season in 1996, and scored touchdowns in multiple playoff games, including the Super Bowl. For a Jets team desperately lacking downfield passing targets, the Edwards acquisition comes with the hope of a Rison-like team success story.
The best case scenario for individual success would be for Edwards to pull an Eddie Kennison, who more than tripled his production after switching AFC West residences in 2001. Kennison averaged just 21.1 yards per game for the Broncos and briefly retired after telling Denver that he didn't want to play football any longer. Just a few weeks later, Kennison resurfaced with the Chiefs and had a solid tenure in Kansas City.
There's another way to look at Edwards' career, though. In my greatest wide receivers ever series, I came up with a formula to rank ever WR in every season in NFL history. In 2007, Edwards was just 24-years-old and ranked as the 6th best WR in the league. In 2008, he fell to the 33rd best receiver, and Browns fans could surely name a few more receivers they would have preferred to the former Wolverine star. In 2009, Edwards got shipped out of town.
Has any other receiver had a similar fall from grace? In query terms, has a WR ranked as a top-10 WR during his age 23, 24 or 25 seasons, fell outside of the top 25 the following season (but not due to injury), and then was on a new team the year after? Only one other modern receiver fits that bill, and Jets fans know him well. Let's compare the mystery WR and Braylon Edwards side by side:
Braylon Edwards Mystery WR Age Rec Yds TDs Rec Yds TD 24 80 1289 16 74 1105 10 25 55 877 3 45 838 5 --------- Switched teams ----------- 26 ?? ??? ?? 84 1483 9
That mystery wide receiver was Santana Moss, who had a brief career rejuvenation for the Redskins in 2005 but has not came close to those numbers since. For Jets fans, even half a season for Edwards where he plays like his old self (or any receiver named Moss) would make this trade worthwhile.
October 8th, 2009 at 8:11 am
Actually, the deciding factor would be the Jets' bye, not the Browns'. If Edwards had been traded to, say, the 0-3 Panthers, he'd have 13 games left in his season to go with the 4 he's already played.
Cool footnote about Rice, though. Has any other player gotten into 17 games in a season?
October 8th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Oops. Good catch as always, Jason W.
In addition to Jerry Rice 2004, Dexter Carter (1995), Chris Singleton (1993) and Micah Ross (2004) also played in 17 games.
October 8th, 2009 at 10:21 am
Wow - Rod Gardner played for Carolina and Green Bay?
October 8th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Yeah, I think I drafted him in my fantasy league that year. *cries*
October 9th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
@ Jason W:
Actually it's both team's byes that matter. If both the Browns and Jets had already had their byes when the trade happened, he would still only play in 16 games (at most).