The then-St. Louis Rams held the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The consensus top two prospects that year were quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III. But the Rams still thought they had their quarterback of the future in Sam Bradford (that turned out real well), so they decided to trade the pick to Washington.
What did they get in return? Washington's first-round picks in 2012, '13 and '14 as well as a second-rounder in 2012. Through various trades, the Rams turned those four picks into eight total selections, and wound up with the following players:
- Michael Brockers
- Janoris Jenkins
- Isaiah Pead
- Rokevious Watkins
- Alec Ogletree
- Stedman Bailey
- Zac Stacy
- Greg Robinson
Griffin had a magical rookie season for Washington, showing remarkable efficiency with his arm and his legs, and ultimately winning a division title. He tore his ACL in the playoffs, though, and after several clashes with the organization over the ensuing few years, eventually left for the Browns. He got injured during his first game with Cleveland last season, and is now sitting on the free-agent market with little interest. So, it's safe to say Washington lost the deal.
But the Rams didn't come out of it all that great, either. Take a look at that list of eight players again. Brockers is a solid starter at defensive tackle and Ogletree is coming off what was likely his best season at linebacker, but the other six guys are all gone -- four of them victims to the Coin Toss Curse, as Hogs Haven calls it.
In December 2014, with the Rams playing Washington at FedEx Field, Jeff Fisher decided to name as captains the six players still on the Rams' roster as a result of the RG3 trade. Watkins was already off the team and Pead was suspended at the time, so Brockers, Jenkins, Ogletree, Bailey, Stacy and Robinson all served as team captains.
The Rams reminded the Redskins who they gave up for RGIII during the coin toss. Well played. http://t.co/9brm0rcaX4 https://t.co/IPLx9bwghr
— theScore (@theScore) December 7, 2014
Since then, four of those six players have moved on, and Fisher has lost his job. (Likely due to extensive 7-9 bulls***.)
Jenkins played fairly well for four years with the Rams, but he signed a big-money contract with the Giants last offseason and immediately became a significantly better player in New York. He was one of the best free-agent signings of the 2016 offseason.
Pead ran for 78 yards over four years with the Rams, a time during which he was suspended for violating the substance abuse policy and tore his ACL. He caught on with the Steelers and Dolphins over the past couple years before getting injured in a car accident that cost him part of his leg.
Watkins lasted two years in the league and appeared in only four games.
Bailey caught 59 passes in three years, then was involved in a scary shooting that left him in critical but stable condition while his cousin, who was shot in the same incident, fought for his life. Bailey was serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy at the time of the shooting. He is no longer in the league and now works for his alma mater, West Virginia, as an assistant coach.
Stacy briefly served as the team's starting running back during his rookie season, but fell completely off the map and was eventually traded to the Jets for a late-round pick (used on linebacker Bryce Hager). He, too, is no longer in the NFL.
Robinson, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 draft, was traded Thursday to the Detroit Lions. What did the Rams get in exchange for his services? A sixth-round pick. That's quite the fall for a player considered the consensus top offensive line prospect in that year's draft, and who the Rams got barely replacement-level play from over three seasons.
And all these years later, the Rams still don't know if they have their quarterback of the future. They were the team that traded up in the draft for a passer in 2016, but No. 1 Jared Goff was a major disappointment as a rookie. They'll now have to hope that new coach Sean McVay can bring something out of him that wasn't there last season.
In the end, it's hard to deny that this is true: Nobody won this trade.
