It’s been over 30 years since the Cowboys pulled off one of the most infamous and impactful trades in NFL history by trading running back Herschel Walker, and the deal‘s legacy endures to this day. As it turns out, though, the move nearly had a drastically different outcome.
Speaking for an episode of EPIX’s NFL Icons, former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson explained that he had almost completed a trade agreement that would have sent Walker not to Minnesota, but instead to Cleveland. As Johnson tells the story, the potential trade to the Browns came down to Cleveland owner Art Modell signing off.
“[Former Browns general manager] Ernie [Accorsi], of course, he was with the Cleveland Browns at that time. He called, and we worked out a trade and—and [it] sounded pretty good,” Johnson said, according to WKYC’s Ben Axelrod. “And he said, well, the only thing is, you know, he’d have to get [Browns owner] Art Modell to sign off on it that night.”
