Rams Trade Ferragamo to Buffalo
The trade rumor that has long had Rams quarterback Vince Ferragamo shuffling off to Buffalo has finally come true.
Thursday, the Rams announced they had traded Ferragamo to the Buffalo Bills for tight end Tony Hunter.
The Rams also threw in an undisclosed draft choice, though it’s believed to be a third-round pick.
So, finally, those in Rams management can wipe their brows and relax for a second or two before thinking about Eric Dickerson’s contract.
The Ferragamo Story was getting a little sticky.
He unofficially left the Rams on March 26 when the team announced the signing of Canadian Football League quarterback Dieter Brock.
Rams Coach John Robinson announced soon after that the team would try to trade Ferragamo.
It finally happened, but just 11 days before veterans are due to report to training camp.
“We were all saying, ‘It’ll work out, it’ll work out,’ ” Robinson said, “But there was always that nagging thing, ‘what if it doesn’t?’ ”
If it didn’t, of course, it would have put the Rams in the awkward position of having an unwanted quarterback in training camp.
But Robinson doesn’t have to worry about that now. And he’s thrilled about what he got in return.
Ferragamo, who has been avoiding reporters in recent weeks, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
But Robinson could.
“I was confident all along the Rams would make a deal,” he said. “But to acquire someone of Hunter’s stature was beyond my wildest hopes.”
It was believed that the Rams were having trouble trading Ferragamo because they were asking for a second-round draft choice in return. Other NFL teams, including the Green Bay Packers, figured that was a little high for a quarter back the Rams were so willing to discard.
“This trade looks very good to me,” Robinson said. “Some guy asked me this morning whether I’d give Vinnie up for waivers.”
Rumors about a deal with the Bills have been circulating for weeks, but talks supposedly died last week with the Rams still insisting on a second-round pick.
Robinson said the intensity of negotiations probably picked up because training camp is quickly approaching.
The Rams needed Ferragamo out of their hair before it became a sticky public relations’ problem.
The Bills, with Joe Ferguson traded away to Detroit, needed to find a starting quarterback.
The 25-year-old Hunter, an All-American from Notre Dame, was the 12th player selected in the 1983 draft. The Bills had two first-round picks that year and chose to take Hunter ahead of Jim Kelly, the record-setting quarterback of the Houston Gamblers.
Robinson had longed coveted Hunter. In fact, the Rams probably would have drafted him in 1983 had they not traded up higher in the draft to get a back named Eric Dickerson.
Robinson, while still the head coach at USC, heavily recruited Hunter at Moeller High School near Cincinnati. But Hunter chose Notre Dame instead.
He made the NFL’s all-rookie team in 1983, catching 36 passes for 402 yards and three touchdowns.
Last season he was bothered by a back injury that forced him to miss five games. But word out of Buffalo is that the Bills’ physicians couldn’t find anything wrong with his back and that Hunter ultimately had to consult his own doctor.
Robinson isn’t sure how he’ll use Hunter. The Rams are already loaded at the tight end position with David Hill, Mike Barber and James McDonald.
For reporters, Robinson diagramed on a chalkboard a possible four-tight end offense. But when he counted up the Xs it came out to 13 players, two over the legal limit.
“I’ve just got to see him in practice,” Robinson said. “It’s crazy to start speculating.”
Robinson can start doing that Monday, when the Rams pick up and move camp to Cal State Fullerton.
But for now, he can at least close the book on Ferragamo, perhaps the most enigmatic quarterback in Rams history.
For all that’s been said and written about him, it was Ferragamo who led the Rams to their only Super Bowl appearance, in 1979. It is Ferragamo who holds Rams single-season records for completions (274), attempts (464), yards (3,276) and touchdowns (30). It was Ferragamo who once threw for 509 yards in a game, the second-highest total in NFL history.
Yet, there will always be those who remember Ferragamo as the sometimes spacey quarterback who made up his own plays in the huddle, the one who wasn’t always sure what team was next on the schedule.
But, before the 1984 season, Ferragamo seemingly became the Rams’ quarterback of the future when he signed a four-year extention to his contract that would pay him about $2 million.
However, 1984 turned out to be a disaster. Ferragamo tore a ligament on the finger of his throwing hand in the exhibition season and ended up throwing eight interceptions in the first three games. He broke a bone in his right hand against Pittsburgh Sept. 16 and missed the remainder of the season.
Somewhere along the way, he fell into disfavor with his coach, though Robinson refused to pinpoint the problem.
“I still think he’s a good quarterback in the NFL,” Robinson said. “I have no great knock to put on him at this point. It doesn’t serve any purpose to say exactly what it was.”
Ram Notes The Rams announced that wide receiver Ron Brown underwent arthroscopic surgery Wednesday night to remove two bone chips from his left kneecap. Brown is expected to miss three weeks of training camp. The surgery, performed at Centinela Hospital Medical Center by Dr. Clarence Shields, was not deemed necessary until Brown aggravated the injury a few days ago. . . . Brown caught 23 passes for 478 yards and four touchdowns as a rookie last season. Robinson thinks Brown will be back in time for the Rams exhibition opener against Houston on Aug. 10
