Cincinnati Bengals Famously Turned Down Trade With New Orleans Saints

Published on September 22nd, 2024 10:43 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Mike Ditka believed that Ricky Williams was the next Walter Payton.

We all know the story of how Ditka and the New Orleans Saints broke the bank to make a trade with the Washington Redskins in order to draft Ricky Williams. Washington gladly accepted the deal, and their franchise ended up being much better off as a result.

The same deal, however, was offered to the Cincinnati Bengals by the Saints.

The Bengals were picking third in the 1999 NFL Draft, and the Saints were worried that Williams was going to be picked by the time that they made their selection.

The Saints wanted to move up to the third spot in the draft - here is what they offered the Bengals:

All of the Saints 1999 draft picks
First round pick in 2000
First round pick in 2001
Second round pick in 2002

This was a generational haul that was being offered to the Bengals - and they turned it down.

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The Bengals turned down the offer because they had their eyes fixed on the man that they felt was going to turn around their franchise - Oregon QB Akili Smith.

With Tim Couch and Donovan McNabb going #1 and #2, the Bengals were set to draft their guy, and the lucrative offer from the Saints did nothing to dissuade them.

Unfortunately for Bengals fans, Akili Smith turned out to be a complete bust.

In fact, Akili finished his career with just 5 touchdown passes to go along with 13 interceptions and 13 fumbles.

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The combination of not taking the deal from the Saints and selecting Akili Smith third overall set the Bengals franchise back for years.

In fact, the Bengals wouldn't post a winning record until the 2005 season.