The Football “Could Have Been’s”

Have you ever had one of those moments where you find out years (or decades later) how your favorite team made a critical decision or trade that seemed smart at the time but may have caused them to miss out on something bigger? We learned that when former Ohio State All-American standout linebacker Tom Cousineau decided to return to the US to play in the NFL after several years with the Montreal Alouettes in the CFL in 1982, he didn’t take a direct route back to his hometown team, the Cleveland Browns. The Buffalo Bills had actually drafted Cousineau in 1979 and thus still had rights to his contract if he returned to the league. The Browns ended up trading their first round draft pick for 1983 to the Bills for Cousineau, and the Bills went on to use the pick to draft future Hall of Famer Jim Kelly as the 14th pick overall! Not to say Cousineau wasn’t a contributor in Cleveland for a couple years. But man, to think they lost a chance at not one, but two, future Hall of Fame quarterbacks (Dan Marino was picked 27th) leaves us, as lifelong Browns fans, feeling a little bit … deflated. Have you learned about any “could have beens” with your favorite teams long after the fact?

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