Denver traded Jake Plummer's rights to Tampa Bay on March 3,…
Denver traded Jake Plummer's rights to Tampa Bay on March 3, 2007 for a conditional 2008 draft choice. Plummer never reported to Tampa Bay, so the condition settled as the Buccaneers' 2008 seventh-round pick, No. 227. Denver used that selection on Peyton Hillis, who became a useful rookie contributor. Tampa Bay never received an on-field contribution from Plummer.
Denver Broncos Received
- pick 2008 seventh-round pick (#227- Peyton Hillis )
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Received
- player Jake Plummer rights
Trade Analysis
The transaction was initially reported as a trade of Jake Plummer's rights for a future conditional draft choice, and the conditions ultimately resolved in Denver's favor. Tampa Bay's own transaction history says the Buccaneers sent their 2008 seventh-round selection to Denver for Plummer. Denver's historical media guide identifies that acquired selection as No. 227 and records the Broncos using it to draft Peyton Hillis. NFL transaction records independently place the Plummer trade on March 3, 2007. Those sources correct the older corpus wording that described the return as an undisclosed 2007 choice.
Tampa Bay never received playing value from Plummer. The Buccaneers acknowledged at the time of the trade that he was contemplating retirement, and their later 2008 quarterback review states that Plummer spent the entire 2007 season away from the league while Tampa Bay continued to hold his rights. That means the Buccaneers spent a future selection on a quarterback who never appeared in a game for them. The trade was not a major financial or roster disaster because the ultimate cost was only a seventh-round pick, but its realized football return was zero.
Denver converted that same asset into a productive rookie. The No. 227 selection became Peyton Hillis, who played 12 games with six starts for the Broncos in 2008. He rushed for 343 yards and five touchdowns, added 179 receiving yards and another score, and supplied 522 yards from scrimmage during his rookie season. Hillis remained with Denver in 2009 before later moving to Cleveland. His Broncos tenure was not long enough to turn a seventh-round win into a franchise-changing transaction, yet it still represents clear realized value from an asset Denver received for a player who was no longer part of its plans. On hindsight value, Denver earns the stronger grade because it turned Plummer's rights into a useful draft pick and contributor while Tampa Bay received no on-field return.