Miami Dolphins worst trades with the L.A. Chargers not so clearly defined

The Miami Dolphins worst trade with the L.A. Chargers is not so clearly defined.

The Miami Dolphins have made some questionable trades with the Chargers but these stand out as two of the worst in team history.

Maybe when the Miami Dolphins stole Larry Little from the Chargers it set the football gods off and they decided that future trades between the two clubs would never be so one-sided again. Given the trades that have been made since that deal in 1969, it would make sense.

Mercury Morris was part of the Miami Dolphins Super Bowl teams, an integral part of the Miami offense but in 1977, the Dolphins opted to move on and sent him to the Chargers for a third-round draft pick. Miami wasted the pick on tackle Mike Watson who never played a down in the NFL.

Miami had drafted A.J. Duhe in round one and then Bob Baumhower in round two so maybe they were destined to blow their third-round pick. In the end, it wasn’t all that bad. Morris only played one season in San Diego before he called it a career.

What should have been a blockbuster deal for the Dolphins in 2004 didn’t turn out all that great for the Dolphins. Rick Speilman sent cornerback Jamar Fletcher and a sixth-round pick to the Chargers for WR David Boston. It should have been a pretty good trade.

Fletcher had pretty much been a bust in Miami since the day he arrived and moving on wasn’t anything more than a matter of time. Boston was a one-time elite pass catcher for the Arizona Cardinals who joined the Chargers in 2003 as a free agent. Boston was given a 7-year $47 million deal with the Chargers but after a season that saw him seven touchdowns and over 850 yards, the Chargers dumped Boston and his salary on Miami.

In Miami, Boston showed up with a freakishly sculptured physique but it did not translate to the football field. In his five games with the Dolphins, he posted four receptions for 80 yards and two first downs. Yes, first downs not touchdowns. He was out of Miami and the league after the 2005 season.

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Sadly, the trade for Boston wasn’t as big as a flop as this next one. In 2005 the Dolphins traded one quarterback and a sixth-round pick for a player that in essence made Dolphins history.

A.J. Feeley came to Miami as a wasted trade with the Eagles. Miami had sent a 2nd round pick to Philly for the QB. Feeley was not a very good QB for the Dolphins and in 2005, midway through the season, the Dolphins traded Feeley and a 6th round pick for Cleo Lemon. Feeley would not play a single down for the Chargers and then moved on whereas Lemon started off and in his short career. His claim to fame, and his Dolphins historical moment, came as a starter in 2007 when the winless Dolphins under Cam Cameron beat the visiting Ravens for their first and only win of the season.

The Miami Dolphins questionable trades with the Chargers were not done just yet.

Finally, the Miami Dolphins last trade that really has to be questioned came in 2007 when Randy Mueller traded the team’s top receiver, Chris Chambers to S.D. for a 2008 second-round pick. Chambers was one season removed from a Pro Bowl but his production was waning in 2007. Of course, the entire team was with Cameron at the helm.

The trade of Chambers wasn’t all that bad in the end. He had two good years with the Chargers before being released and finishing his career with the Chiefs. Still, had he stayed with the Dolphins and survived that singular Cam Cameron season, he may have been able to help the Dolphins in 2008 with Chad Pennington at the helm. As for that 2nd round pick Miami received, they used that on QB Chad Henne, who for what it is worth, won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs last season, albeit as a back-up.

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