TradeVerdicts records 5 trades between
Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks across 2003–2022. Historical
franchise identities are normalized to the current franchises here,
while each underlying trade keeps its own sourced date, assets,
grades, and verdict.
This page includes every public TradeVerdicts record in which both
current franchises participate. Multi-team trades remain in the
chronology when both clubs are part of the transaction.
The page is rendered at build time, so search engines and readers
can reach the full chronology without running the interactive
selector. The selector remains available for browsing any matchup.
Complete Matchup Chronology
5 Recorded Trades
Oldest to newest
Trade 1
August 23, 2003
Even Trade
Denver BroncosC-
Seattle SeahawksC-
Denver Broncos received
conditional 2004 draft choice (trade criteria not met)
Seattle Seahawks received
Mat McBriar
Seattle acquired punter Mat McBriar from Denver on August 23, 2003, for a conditional 2004 draft choice. Seattle’s official trade history says the criteria were not met, so Denver never received the pick. McBriar was waived before becoming Seattle’s regular-season punter, meaning the Seahawks also realized almost no direct value despite later success McBriar achieved with another franchise.
2009 conditional fifth-round pick (140th overall, Johnny Knox)
Seattle Seahawks received
Keary Colbert
Seattle acquired wide receiver Keary Colbert from Denver on September 17, 2008, for a conditional 2009 fifth-round selection that became No. 140 overall. Colbert appeared in seven games with four starts for Seattle but caught only seven passes for 52 yards and one touchdown. That limited production did not justify the fifth-round value the Seahawks surrendered.
Denver traded its 2010 first-round pick to Seattle for the 37th choice in 2009 and selected cornerback Alphonso Smith. Smith lasted one season with Denver and made three starts. The future pick became No. 14, where Seattle selected Earl Thomas, a six-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro for the Seahawks. Few future-first trades have produced a clearer hindsight gap.
Denver moved up from No. 31 to No. 26 for quarterback Paxton Lynch, sending Seattle a third-round pick to complete the deal. Lynch started only four games for the Broncos and was released before the 2018 season. Seattle used the two selections on Germain Ifedi and Nick Vannett, receiving four years of starting offensive-line play from Ifedi plus rotational tight-end value from Vannett. Seattle won decisively.
Seattle's Russell Wilson trade became one of the clearest modern examples of selling a star at the perfect time. Denver paid a massive price for a quarterback solution that quickly collapsed, while the Seahawks turned the return into the start of a roster reset and avoided the steep downside of Wilson's decline. The deal remains a defining warning about paying peak price for a player whose best version may already be gone.
