Comparing the Rams' worst trade ever to Cowboys’ Micah Parsons blunder

No NFL team is immune to stumbling when it comes to trading veteran players. And that holds true for the Los Angeles Rams as well. Even as fans rush to troll and chide the Dallas Cowboys for trading away Edge rusher Micah Parsons, in the prime of his football career no less, for veteran DT Kenny Clark and two Round 1 draft picks, there are reasons not to pick up stones and join in.

After all, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. It was 1996 that the then St. Louis Rams decided to pull the trigger on a draft day trade that shocked everyone. They traded 24-year-old running back Jerome Bettis, plus a third-round pick, to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a second-round pick in the 1996 draft plus a fourth-rounder in '97.

It was an embarrassing trade, as Bettis would go on to play 10 seasons for the Steelers and become a Hall of Famer. He would rush for 10,571 yards and 78 touchdowns for the Steel Curtain and become a player forever associated with the grit of Pittsburgh. That was after he was drafted by the Rams in 1993, dominating the NFL with 1,429 rushing yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie.

From trade bust to The Bus, Jerome Bettis is Rams' worst trade all-time

There is never a good outcome when a team trades away a future Hall of Famer. And that outcome will forever cement the Rams' willingness to part ways with Bettis as one of the worst trades in franchise history.

From the running back's perspective, this was the perfect trade. He would arrive in Pittsburgh and be the ideal offensive weapon for a team that loved to run the football and play stingy defense. He shared the events leading up to that trade:

"I got a chance to talk to Coach (Bill) Cowher. My rookie year, the Steelers came to Los Angeles, and we beat up on them pretty good, and I had a great day running the ball. The first thing he said to me on the phone was, 'We just traded for you. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. I remember you beat up on us your rookie year, and I'm glad to have you.' It was great to hear and to be going somewhere they wanted me. That worked out pretty well." - Jerome Bettis on his trade to the Steelers.

St. Louis used the Bettis trade picks to select TE Ernie Conwell in 1996, who played seven seasons with the team before finishing his career with the New Orleans Saints. The other pick was used on offensive tackle Ryan Tucker, a member of the Super Bowl XXXIV roster, who started at right tackle for two seasons before moving on to spend seven more years with the Cleveland Browns.

While both players were contributors, neither player's career held a candle to The Bus' impact on the Steelers offense.

Hopefully, general manager Les Snead will avoid bad transactions for the foreseeable future. As always, thanks for reading.

More Los Angeles Rams news and analysis