Pete Rozelle Blocked John Elway from Being a Raider
The Las Vegas Raiders breathed new life into their season with a last-second victory over the Cleveland Browns and Monday night, and they will try to keep it going against an old foe, the Denver Broncos, on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The Raiders (7-7) downed the Broncos, 34-24, earlier this season at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in Denver as quarterback Derek Carr completed 18-of-27 passes for 341 yards and touchdowns of 48 yards to since-departed wide receiver Henry Ruggs III and 31 yards to running back Kenyan Drake, who also ran 18 yards for a score.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater kept the Broncos in the game by completing 35-of-49 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns but also threw three interceptions.
Bridgewater sustained his second concussion this season in a 15-10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, spent the night in the hospital and Coach Vic Fangio said he is “unlikely to play” against the Raiders.
That means backup quarterback Drew Lock will start against the Raiders, who kept third-string quarterback Nick Mullens of the Browns under control for much of the game until he threw a touchdown pass to put Cleveland ahead in the final minutes before Daniel Carlson kicked a 48-yard field goal on the last play to give the Raiders a 16-14 victory over the Browns.
The Raiders have beaten the Broncos three straight times in the last two seasons and six times in the last eight to build a 68-54-2 advantage in the series that dates to 1960 when both teams were charter members of the American Football League.
Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway had some big games against the Raiders and led the Broncos to victories in Super Bowls XXII and XXIII, but in his career from 1983-98, he had only a 13-15 record against the Raiders.
But what if Elway had been wearing Silver and Black?
Long-time Raiders fans believe this should have been much different because Elway was set to be the No. 1 pick of the NFL Draft but said he wouldn’t play for the Colts and would instead sign a baseball contract with the New York Yankees.
So, Raiders owner Al Davis put together a deal with the Colts to acquire that No. 1 draft choice and select Stanford All-American Elway, for three No. 1 draft picks and two No. 2 selections, but the deal was blocked by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle.
Rozelle and Davis had been rivals since the late 1960s when Davis was commissioner of the American Football League during the Pro Football War that led to the AFC-NFL merger in 1970.
When Davis tried to move the Raiders to Los Angeles in 1979 without league approval, he was denied by Rozelle and later sued the NFL for breaking “anti-trust” policies. Davis won the case and was awarded $35 million in damages from the NFL.
But back to the Elway situation.
“We almost had Elway, but Pete Rozelle voided the trade,” former Raiders personnel executive Ron Wolf, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said. “We had the trade set up with Baltimore, but Pete wouldn’t let it happen.”
Instead, the Colts made a deal to send Elway to the Broncos for backup quarterback Mark Hermann, tackle Chris Hinton, and a first-round draft pick.
“Yeah, it’s never been written, but I was going to make the deal only if it included getting back a top 10 pick,” said Ernie Accorsi, who was general manager of the Colts at the time. “I wanted to make sure we still got (Hall of Fame quarterback) Dan Marino. I wasn’t going to trade Elway for anything less than the best package ever.”
Of course, Accorsi and didn’t get Marino either, who went to the Miami Dolphins instead. The Colts ended up that year with linebacker Vernon Maxwell of Arizona State with the first pick of the second round.
And Raider Nation, to this day, wonders how many Super Bowls the Silver and Black would have won with Elway at quarterback.
Want to air your opinion about all things Las Vegas Raiders? Maybe you like to talk about other sports that aren't Silver and Black related? We got your back. Join our 100% FREE message board, a brand new option, when you CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Make sure you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Want the latest breaking Las Vegas Raiders news delivered straight to your email for FREE? Sign up for the DAILY Raiders Nation newsletter when you CLICK THE FOLLOW button on the main page. Don't miss any of the latest up to the second updates for your Las Vegas Raiders when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter
