Cincinnati traded quarterback Jack Thompson to Tampa Bay in…
Cincinnati traded quarterback Jack Thompson to Tampa Bay in June 1983 for the Buccaneers' 1984 first-round pick. That selection became No. 1 overall, and the Bengals later dealt it to New England for a package including first-rounders Pete Koch and Brian Blados. Thompson started 13 games in 1983 but faded quickly, leaving Cincinnati with the much stronger long-term asset.
Cincinnati Bengals Received
- pick 1984 first round pick (#1; later traded to New England, which selected Irving Fryar)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Received
- player Jack Thompson
Trade Analysis
Tampa Bay was trying to solve quarterback when it acquired Jack Thompson from Cincinnati on June 2, 1983. The price was the Buccaneers' 1984 first-round pick. Thompson became Tampa Bay's primary starter that season, throwing for 2,906 yards and 18 touchdowns, but he also threw 21 interceptions. In 1984 he appeared in only five games and started three, ending his NFL career after that season.
The draft choice moved in the opposite direction. Tampa Bay's poor 1983 record pushed the selection all the way to No. 1 overall in 1984. Cincinnati did not select Irving Fryar, so the asset should not be labeled as though it did. The Bengals instead traded No. 1 to New England for the No. 16 and No. 28 first-round picks, a tenth-round choice and a 1985 fifth-rounder. New England then selected Fryar first overall.
Cincinnati's downstream package produced Pete Koch and Brian Blados in the first round, with Blados becoming a multi-year Bengals starter. Even if that haul did not produce a superstar equal to the theoretical value of the first pick, it was far more durable than Tampa Bay's short Thompson tenure.
The Bengals therefore win on both value retention and realized production. They moved a quarterback who was no longer central to their plans and received a future first that became the league's top selection. Tampa Bay received one full starting season before Thompson's career ended. An A for Cincinnati and D for Tampa Bay capture that large, well-supported gap while properly describing the No. 1 choice as an asset Cincinnati later traded rather than a direct Fryar selection.