3 worst trades in Indianapolis Colts history

1. The Trent Richardson disaster

The Colts sending a 2014 first-round pick to Cleveland in exchange for Trent Richardson might be one of the worst trades in NFL history, so there was really no other choice for the top spot on this list.

Though fans didn’t know it at the time, this failed blockbuster really marked the beginning of the end of Ryan Grigson’s reign as Colts GM.

After the Colts surprisingly made the playoffs in his first year at the helm (2012), Grigson wanted to make a splash move to propel his roster to a championship contender. In his eyes, pairing two top-three picks from the 2012 draft — Andrew Luck went No. 1 overall and Richardson was drafted No. 3 overall — would do just that, but he was dead wrong.

It’s easy to see why Grigson felt compelled to trade for Richardson. As a rookie in 2012, he racked up 950 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground, while adding 51 catches for 367 yards and an additional score as a pass-catcher.

However, Richardson averaged a lousy 3.6 yards per carry that year and never showed great vision or speed between the tackles. That should’ve been the ultimate red flag, because Richardson managed just 458 yards over 2.9 YPC in 2013.

The following year wasn’t much better, as Richardson averaged 3.3 yards per tote, was suspended for the final game of the campaign and played just one snap during the Colts playoff run, which ended in the AFC Championship Game.

We’re nearly a decade removed from this trade, and we wouldn’t blame Colts fans who still have nightmares just thinking about it.

Colts: 3 players that must be moved off roster by trade deadline

If Colts GM Chris Ballard is in a selling mood at the trade deadline, he could look to send some of these players elsewhere.